Presented by Virginia Arts Festival as part of their 2026 spring season, Top Gun: Maverick in Concert is an exhilarating new offering for orchestras that features an Original Music Score by Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga and Hans Zimmer. Score Produced by Lorne Balfe. The blockbuster hit film was nominated for six Academy Awards® including Best Picture and Best Original Song, winning Best Sound.
Enjoy our own Virginia Symphony Orchestra performing the score live on stage as the film plays, conducted by Morihiko Nakahara. A native of Kagoshima, Japan, Morihiko Nakahara has served as Music Director of the South Carolina Philharmonic since 2008. Nakahara remains active as a guest conductor during the 2025-2026 season
After more than 30 years of service as one of the Navy's top aviators, Pete “Maverick†Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. When he finds himself training a detachment of TOPGUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,†the son of Maverick's late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose.â€
Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it.
Tickets are on sale now at vafest.org. Military (active duty, retired, veterans) and student discounts available.
Watch the trailer online at https://youtu.be/nGI5DL3d8VU. A Royal Albert Hall production with thanks to esk film.
