11/4 Chamber orchestra premieres bluegrass viola concerto

October 4, 2018 eazander 2-min. read

THE NC STATE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC PRESENTS

Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra
MUSIC OF THE MOUNTAINS

Sunday, November 4, 2018 at 4pm
Stewart Theatre

TICKETS: 919-515-1100 (1-6pm, Mon-Fri) or click here to order online

The Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra will perform the world premiere of Donald Reid Womack’s Blue Ridge Seasons: A Bluegrass Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, inspired by the natural beauty and musical heritage of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with ETHEL’s Ralph Farris as soloist. The work will be the first ever bluegrass viola concerto, written for Farris, a virtuoso on the often neglected instrument. This new concerto will be paired with Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring.

Womack serves as professor of composition and theory at the University of Hawaii. He has composed more than 90 works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo instruments, and voice. His work with Japanese, Korean and Chinese instruments has placed him at the vanguard of intercultural composition.

Violist Ralph Farris is a founding member of the renowned string quartet ETHEL, a Grammy-nominated arranger, an original Broadway orchestra member of The Lion King, and the former musical director for The Who’s Roger Daltrey.

Dr. Peter Askim will conduct the program.

TICKETS

$10 adults, $8 seniors, $5 students, children under 12 free. Available for purchase at the door or in advance through Ticket Central, 919-515-1100 (open 1-6pm, Mon-Fri). Tickets are available online until midnight on Saturday, November 3.

SUSTAINABILITY SHOWCASE AND PANEL DISCUSSION

As part of this event, conductor Peter Askim and the orchestra are planning activities to highlight some of the vital issues related to the mountains, parks and the natural world. The Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra invites individuals and/or groups engaged in research, advocacy and information related to mountains, parks, conservation, the environment, sustainability, and bluegrass/traditional music to present posters and/or information tables at a sustainability showcase (3pm, Talley Student Union) before the performance, and a panel discussion that follows the concert. To participate in the showcase, please contact Christy Rain at clrain@ncsu.edu.

The panel discussion will include:

Donald Reid Womack, composer
Ralph Farris, soloist
Paul Schiminger, Executive Director, International Bluegrass Music Association
Richard Emmett, Program Director, Blue Ridge Music Center/Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
Chris Canfield, Executive Director, Conservation Trust for North Carolina

This project was supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources; the City of Raleigh based on recommendations of the Raleigh Arts Commission; and the NC State University Sustainability Fund.