What We Believe
The Belvedere Series’ mission is to provide extraordinary chamber music experiences for new audiences and devoted music-lovers in Richmond, Virginia.
We present musical and educational experiences in intimate settings and larger community spaces. Our events facilitate artistic and social engagement, building lasting connections between artists, listeners, and the wider community.
In its brief yet ambitious history, it’s been challenging to define a single, unifying aesthetic for The Belvedere Series. Under the leadership of Ingrid Keller, each year has brought its own unique set of goals, themes, and artistic directions. What has remained steadfast, however, is a dedication to excellence and a commitment to fostering creativity and meaning within our community. In Richmond, the Series has cultivated a space where timeless masterpieces and bold, contemporary works coexist in a dynamic and harmonious dialogue—one rooted in reverence, the other in the spirit of innovation.
At the heart of the Belvedere experience, is the passionate, unfiltered enthusiasm of our audience. Whether they’re engaging with a cherished classic or the latest musical exploration, their energy is as integral to the Series as the performances themselves. Their fervor is the true pulse of the Series.
The Salon concert epitomizes this passionate exchange—it’s a space where complacency has no place, and where both audience and artist can embark on a journey of exploration, introspection, and catharsis. It’s a place where discovery is shared and where, for years to come, we hope to reaffirm music’s profound, transformative power.
The Belvedere Series’ home is the historic Marburg house in the Carillon/Byrd Park neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. It is the oldest standing structure in the area and predates Maymont Park by four years. The house is set on what used to be 90 acres of the Beechwood Farm owned by Bolling Walker Haxall, a mid-19th-century textiles, manufacturing, and railroad magnate who rented the land to tenant growers. The residence as it stands today was built by a German immigrant who named the house after his hometown of Marburg in Hesse, Germany. The architectural styles are a mix of Folk Victorian, Queen Anne, and Colonial Revival Styles as well as a distinctive Art Deco brick wrap around porch. Accounts of a secret underground room used during the Prohibition era, a wedding in the front parlor, and a carriage stone found buried in its yard only add to the home’s undeniable charm. Keeping its historic integrity and significance, Marburg underwent a full restoration in 2019 after being purchased and saved from demolition by preservationist Dr. William Lipps.The grand rooms, 12-foot ceilings, heart pine floors, and ornate fireplaces provide an unparalleled experience for the Belvedere Series’ audience, with exceptional acoustics, intimate seating, and a treasured grand piano.
The Marburg House was featured in the Garden Club of Virginia’s Historic Garden Day Tour on April 27th, 2022.
Cynthia Greene, Administrative Coordinator, Dumbarton Oaks (ret.)
Kenna Payne, CPA (ret.)
Scotty Bowie, Jr., Nurse Anesthetist
Christine Lu, Director of Communications, Marketing Strategy and Design, Equity Concepts, LLC
Taylor Meade, MS, Resident in Counseling
Jeffrey Leigh Sedgwick, Ph.D., Associate Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Nathan Bick, Executive Director of Development, VCU School of Medicine
Chamber repertoire offers musicians the opportunity to innovate and interpret music based on their own expertise and personality. In a chamber event, performers spin out music in their own way. This means that any chamber event is the only one of its kind.
Imagine being able to watch a world-class painter bring a piece of art to life in real time. Or consider the thrill of attending a master chef's gourmet session, where exquisite flavors are crafted and then savored as they unfold. Think of the exclusivity of a dress rehearsal at the ballet or opera, where the raw passion of the performance is felt up-close and personal. This is akin to what guests experience at a Belvedere event.
These are unique events in time, space, and history: Haydn, the father of the string quartet, becomes something new when four musicians play his work in real time after spending hours together in rehearsal - laughing, feeling, working, and interacting very intensely with the music itself.
To walk into a Series concert is to walk into a professionally-curated aesthetic experience, filled with a full range of human emotion and otherworldly awareness. To be a Belvedere guest is to experience aesthetics and the sensory in a new way.
