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Members of the New Virginians perform on stage in this color image from 1981. The group wears an assortment of costumes and sings into microphones in pairs, one arm raised above their heads. Behind them is a large light-up New Virginians sign.

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2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the New Virginians, and we’ll celebrate with a special event at the Moss Arts Center.

50th Anniversary Celebration

Saturday, June 11
1-6 PM

Event Schedule

10:30 AM: Informal Gathering with Coffee and Breakfast Goodies
Cube, Moss Arts Center
Stop by to drop off instruments and memoribilia and gather with friends olf and new. (Afterwards, feel free to explore campus or grab lunch downtown—there are a lot of great restaurants to enjoy!)

1-1:30 PM: On-Site Check-in for Workshop
Grand Lobby, Moss Arts Center

1:30-4 PM: Workshop Rehearsal
Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, Moss Arts Center

4 PM: Workshop Performance
Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, Moss Arts Center
Theatre doors open at 4:00 p.m.; estimated performance start time is 4:15 p.m.
We welcome your family and friends to attend the culminating workshop performance. All are welcome to attend this fun performance, so come early before the reception.

4:30-6 PM: Reception
Grand Lobby, Moss Arts Center
Join your fellow New Virginians, family, and friends for a fun reception with drinks and hors d/oeuvres.

8 PM: Evening Social
Catherine Breske is planning an informal gathering at her Blacksburg home. Plan to bring your own beverages. Directions will be available in person on June 11.

Sign up for New Virginians emails to be the first to know more about this event, or check back here soon.

History of the New Virginians

The New Virginians are an integral part of Virginia Tech’s musical history. Founded in 1972 as a student organization by the group’s first director, Stan Kingma, and later led by director John Howell, the New Virginians were the musical ambassadors of Virginia Tech, touring a musical variety show across Virginia and surrounding states.

The New Virginians featured 24 singers and dancers, a 12-piece showband led by Paul Breske, a technical staff, and a public relations staff. During its 21 active years, the New Virginians produced 18 albums; performed two annual on-campus events, the Homeshow each spring and a holiday benefit concert; and in the late 1970s, embarked on a summer tour across the United States that culminated in an appearance on the Dinah Shore Show.

Two members of the New Virginians, Black women, stand back to back in coordinating outfits, arms crossed. One wears a blue beret, red shirt, white tank top, blue belt and white pants, and the other wears a red beret, blue shirt, white tank top, red belt, and white pants.
Members of the New Virginians perform on stage. In the foreground, two sets of trios sing into the microphones, the women wearing flapper costumes, and the men wearing white top hats.
A member of the New Virginians, a white man with dark brown hair wearing a dark and sequined Elvis costume, performs on stage. He is blurred a bit from his movement.
Two members of the New Virginians perform on stage in this color image. On the left is a white man with medium length dark brown hair and a brown moustache. He wears a white button down shirt, black bolo tie, and large white cowboy hat. On the right is a white woman with medium length red hair wearing a magenta spaghetti strap dress.
The New Virginians perform as a group on stage in this black and white image from 1982. The women wear knee-length dresses with ruffles and the men wear white shirts with dark pants. They stand on stage risers.
Members of the New Virginians perform on stage in this black and white photo. In the foreground are four people, two white women and two white men in alternating order. They stand with their legs in a slightly wide stance and arms thrown wide over their heads in an X shape. Behind them are more members on stage risers in the same stance. The men wear white shirts tucked into dark pants; the women wear A-line dresses with spaghetti straps, sweetheart necklines, thin belts at the waist, and a line of ruffles cascading from the belt to the ruffled hem.
Two members of the New Virginians perform on stage. On the left is a white man with dark hair and a dark moustache wearing a white turtleneck and grey hat; on the left is a Black man wearing a white shirt, grey scarf, and grey hat. Both point their thumbs at themselves. They are lit by by individual follow spots and lean their backs against each other.
Members of the New Virginians perform on stage in this black and white photo. In the foreground, a white man holds a white woman in his arms. She wears a plaid shirt and long ruffled skirt, almost like a woman on the American frontier would wear, and raises her right arm above her head. Behind them are other members of the group and part of the New Virginians' light-up sign.
Three members of the New Virginians perform on stage in this black and white photo. All three are white woman, two with dark brown hair and one with blonde hair. They wear satin dresses tied at one shoulder and sing animatedly.
Members of the New Virginians wear multicolored costumes and lean together and forward towards the crowd with drama, all of them lowering sunglasses so they can peer at the audience over them.
A member of the New Virginians, a Black man wearing an oversized white sequined button down shirt, wide silver belt, and dark pants, sings into a microphone and snaps his fingers in this black and white photo.
Six members of the New Virginians, four white men and two white women, perform and sing on stage in this black and white image. The men wear white button down shirts under sequined vests with black pants. The women wear white shirts and long skirts under sequined jackets. All of them raise their hands into the air.
Three members of the New Virginians perform on stage. In the middle is a tall white man with dark brown hair, maroon baseball cap, white shirt, brown belt, and dark jeans. Two white women with dark brown hair hug him from either side, one leg kicked up at a 90 degree angle flirtatiously.
Members of the New Virginians wear sequined black tops and satin skirts while singing by pairs into several microphones in this black and white photo.
A group of the New Virginians sit on outdoor bleachers and sing. Many are wearing white New Virginians sweatshirts.
Two members of the New Virginians sing and perform on stage in this black and white image. On the left/in front is a white woman with blonde or light colored hair in a white button down short sleeved shirt and glasses. On the right/behind is a white man with medium length brown hair, plaid button down shirt, and glasses. He hugs her from behind. Both are smiling.
The New Virginians gather together outside of a stone building in this black and white photo. Some are standing, some crouch, and some sit on a curb in the front.
Two members of the New Virginians perform on stage in this black and white image. White man with medium length light hair smiles and holds a woman in his arms. She is a white woman with long, wavy light hair, wearing a costume with a white button down short sleeved top and plaid checkered skirt with matching scarf. The man's shirt matches her skirt.
A member of the New Virginians, a white man with medium length dark brown hair, plays a tambourine and sings, smiling, on stage in this black and white image. He wears a white button down shirt with wide lapels.
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Members of the New Virginians gather in a group on a grassy clearing in the sun, dressed in peak 1970s attire.
The New Virginians perform on the landing of a set of outdoor stairs. The men wear green coordinating sets, and the women wear orange and patterned coordinating sets. They stand at microphone stands with all have one arm raised in the air.
Some of the New Virginians perform or prepare to perform outdoors. Behind them are green, leafy trees. The men wear green pants and shirts; the women wear orange jumpers.
A member of the New Virginians, a white man with shaggy light brown hair and sunglasses, stands at a mixing board outside, a line a evergreen trees directly behind him.
Members of the New Virginians perform onstage. Behind the group is a large, light-up sign with a yellowy-orange background and maroon letters spelling "The New Virginians." Some members in costumes (Raggedy Anne and Raggedy Andy, Winnie the Pooh, and a woman in a black shirt, white shirt, and black mouse ears with pigtails). Nearby, a man seated on a stool and holding a microphone is under a spotlight. He wears a green shirt and pants.
Five members of the New Virginians perform on stage. From left, a white man with medium length light brown hair, a white woman with short strawberry blonde hair, a white man with short blonde hair, a white woman with long curled reddish brown hair, and a white woman with long dark brown hair. The men wear white jumpsuits over red button down shirts, and the women wear white dresses with red and blue accents at the waist and neckline.
Members of the New Virginians perform on stage. Two people in the foreground sing into a microphone together: a white man with medium length dark brown hair, yellow and brown plaid shirt, and red and black plaid pants; and a women with blonde hair in a curled ponytail, multicolored plaid blazer, white button down shirt, and multicolored plaid pants. Behind them, other members sit on risers and a large light up sign reads "The New Virginians"
Four men from the New Virginians sing into the same microphone on stage. All four wear white vests over button down shirts. The two on the left, a Black man with a medium length afro and a white man with medium length blonde hair, wear red shirts. The two on the right, a white man with medium length light brown hair and a white man with medium length dark brown hair, wear blue shirts.
A group of New Virginians warms up on stage. They all wear various warmup or exercise clothes and a nametag pinned to their clothing. They all lean their heads back, front leg bent slightly and back leg supporting their weight, arms at their sides.
Members of the New Virginians rehearse or perform in a room with a hardwood floor and white walls with the New Virginians logo painted on it in red and blue. Everyone stands behind microphone stands and lifts their arms above their heads, stretched to their right sides.
Two members of the New Virginians, white men with dark brown hair, run sound. One wears a blue windbreaker and runs his right hand through his hair. The other wears a red jacket.
Members of the New Virginians perform on stage in this somewhat blurry photo. In the center of the frame, a white woman with medium length blonde hair wears a blue flapper-inspired dress with black fringe at the top and bottom, and raises both of her arms elegantly into the air. The other women on stage wear jumpsuits in various colors with sequins at their waists and necklines.
Members of the New Virginians hold their instruments on stage in front of a maroon or purple wall. Above them is a light up "The New Virginians" sign. Almost all of them wear blue jumpsuits over white button down shirts.
A member of the New Virginians, a white woman with long dark brown hair, sings into a microphone wearing a white longsleeved dress. Her eyeshadow is white and she wears a berry-colored lipstick.
A member of the New Virginians holds a cable. He's a white man with glasses, dark brown hair, and a dark brown moustache, wearing a light blue t-shirt and black belt.
Members of the New Virginians backstage. In the center and foreground is a white man with dark brown hair. He wears a navy blue pair of coveralls with a white belt and the New Virginians logo on the right breast pocket.
A member of the tech crew of the New Virginians wrangles a cable. She is a white woman with shiny medium length red hair, wearing a black t-shirt.
A member of the New Virginians wrangles a bundle of cables. He is a white man with medium length dark brown hair. He wears a sleeveless grey t-shirt.
Two members of the New Virginians' tech crew sit cross-legged on the floor while they work on the wiring for a light up sign. Both are white men with dark brown hair. The one of the left wears a navy blue shirt with white stars on it and jeans. The one of the right wears a grey-blue button down shirt with jeans.
Members of the New Virginians perform on stage. They sing into microphones, almost everyone with both arms raised and extended from their bodies in a T shape. The men wear kelly green jumpsuits with sequined belts and geometric details on the chest. The women wear jumpsuits of various colors (light purple, mustard, sage green), with sequins at the belt and the top trim.
Members of the New Virginians perform on stage in green and sequined costumes. In the foreground is a woman with medium blonde hair and a man with dark brown hair and a moustache. In the background is a women with long light brown hair and a man with medium length shaggy brown hair. Everyone raises their left hand with their first two fingers pointed, the other hand on their hip.
A member of the New Virginians performs in an outdoor area. She is a white woman with long light brown hair wearing a maroon longsleeved shirt (the sleeves are pushed up her forearms) and an orange A-line skirt. She looks to her right with her hips jutted to the right, right arm straight and pointed down in front of her and left arm raised.
A group of four New Virginians, white men dressed like a barbershop quartet, sing into a microphone on a stand.
Two members of the New Virginians, a white man with medium length reddish brown hair and a white man with medium length light brown hair, sing into microphones with nude microphone covers
Three pairs of New Virginians sing into shared microphones under red lighting, a red, light-up "Virginia" visible behind them. From the front is a white woman and a Black man, a white woman and a white man, and a white woman and a white man.
In the foreground, a white man with dark brown hair, a light button down shirt, and dark pants stands on top of a car, right hand raised above his head. He's facing a large group of New Virginians, assembled in front of a low-slung stone building, all sitting, crouching, or standing for a group photo.
A group of male New Virginians hold their instruments and sit on a set piece on the landing of a set of concrete stairs outside. They all wear white pants with a chunky black stripe running down the outside of the leg, and white shirts with really wide lapels, black detail on the chest, and black belts. In the center in the back is a mean in a jean jacket and red shirt.
Two members of the New Virginians perform on stage. They sing into a shared microphone on a stand, leaning their left arms towards the audience. The man, on left, is a white man with medium length dark brown hair, and the woman, on the right, is a white woman with long blonde hair, a full face of makeup, and thin brown eyebrows. The both wear plaid multicolor jackets.
The New Virginians perform on stage at the end of a song or show. Everyone has one hand raised high above their heads. In the middle, two men support a woman on their shoulders. She wears and orange jumpsuit and raises both of her arms above her head. Behind them all is a light up sign that reads "The New Virginians."
The New Virginians perform on stage in multicolored costumes. In the middle is a white man with dark brown hair and a light blue suit. Behind them all is a light up sign that reads "The New Virginians"
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The New Virginians – Moss Arts Center Connection

In 2018 New Virginians alumni and Moss Arts Center leadership formed a task force to work together to chronicle and celebrate the history of the group and plan opportunities to engage New Virginians alumni in events and the future of the arts at Virginia Tech. This relationship continues to grow, with a gathering in 2019 for a performance, reception, and tailgate, and the organization of a virtual performance in 2021. For 2022 the Moss Arts Center will host a special 50th Anniversary Celebration with a workshop and reception during Virginia Tech’s Reunion Weekend in June. 

Watch the New Virginians' virtual performance below.

Photo Credits
Images 1-14: Bob Arnold
Images 15-19: David Bunch
Images 20-48: Stan Kingma