North Carolina Symphony Presents Dvorák and America, 2/12

An in-depth examination of Antonín Dvorák's experiences in America is the focus of an intense week of concerts and activities by the North Carolina Symphony, Feb. 12-19.

Performances of the concert program "Dvorák and America" in Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Fayetteville and New Bern, featuring a complete performance of his popular Symphony No. 9, "From the New World," headline seven exciting days of music and cross-cultural entertainment. The concert also features the rarely heard Hiawatha Melodrama for Actor and Orchestra, created by Michael Beckerman using Dvorák's music and words from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "The Song of Hiawatha."

Former Good Morning America host and broadcast voice of the Symphony David Hartman narrates the program alongside actor/baritone Kevin Deas and a video installation by media artist Peter Bogdanoff.

About the shows: "Several opportunities for North Carolina residents to learn more about the visionary composer pave the way for these orchestral programs, beginning with a performance as part of the North Carolina Symphony's popular Pub Series. A small ensemble of Symphony musicians will present the composer's "American" String Quartet, one of his most famous and cherished works, at Humble Pie restaurant in Raleigh on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 8:00 p.m."

Joseph Horowitz joins former North Carolina Symphony principal clarinetist Jimmy Gilmore for an in-depth conversation on Dvorák at Fayetteville State University on Monday, Feb. 13 at 12:00 p.m. Students and faculty from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University will present "Dvorák's American Accent," a free multimedia chamber music event, at UNC-Chapel Hill's Gerrard Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 7:00 p.m.

There will be also opportunities in all four communities for individuals and student and community groups to participate in additional activities for free. For more, see the schedule below and online at www.ncsymphony.org/dvorak.

Encouraged to come to America by the visionary educator Jeannette Thurber, Dvorák was tasked with leading the way to the creation of an American national music. "The Americans expect great things of me," he said, "and the main thing is, so they say, to show them to the promised land of a new and independent art; in short, to create a national music…It is certainly a great and splendid task for me…There is more than enough material here and plenty of talent."

Dvorák's exploration of American musical idioms led him to two of America's defining sagas: the Indian wars and the slave trade. His use in his own work of the themes and melodies he found in this material challenged and illuminated American notions of race and identity, all ideas that are examined in "Dvorák and America."

This project is part of "Music Unwound," a larger undertaking that originated with a series of concerts developed by Pacific Symphony Music Director Carl St. Clair specifically designed to investigate new forms of audience engagement. The North Carolina Symphony's four performances of "Dvorák and America" are written and produced by author, scholar and Guggenheim Fellow Joseph Horowitz, a highly regarded pioneer in thematic, interdisciplinary classical music programming.

Promoting fresh possibilities for emotional and intellectual connections among concertgoers by presenting art in context is the motivating force behind this National Endowment for the Humanities-funded project. The $300,000 grant, shared among the North Carolina Symphony and its consortium partners, the Pacific Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic and Louisville Orchestra, is the first NEH public programs grant to go to orchestras in a decade and supports the integration of humanities content with live concert performances.

Horowitz and Deas will participate in many activities in all four communities, along with Symphony Music Director Grant Llewellyn. Question and answer sessions, pre-concert talks, a master class for university vocal students in Chapel Hill, a continuation of the Symphony's partnership with Marbles Kids Museum for the family friendly music exploration "Music Makers" and many other events will also be offered during the week.

In addition, two high school teachers from Wilmington and the Charlotte area will bring groups of students to the concerts in Raleigh and Fayetteville. The teachers, who attended a three-week NEH training institute directed by Horowitz, are using a young readers book and an interactive DVD he created to prepare their students for the concerts they will attend.

General admission tickets to the Raleigh performance of "Dvorák and America," presented as part of the Symphony's Friday Favorites series on Friday, Feb. 17 at 12:00 p.m., are $25. The NCS Matinees Friday Favorites Series is presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Additional performances of "Dvorák and America" will be held first on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 8:00 p.m. at Memorial Hall, on the campus of the UNC-Chapel Hill. Tickets for this Chapel Hill Series concert range from $33 to $48 with $30 tickets for seniors and $10 for students.

Fayetteville State University's Seabrook Auditorium hosts the program on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets for this Fayetteville Series concert are $30, with $25 for military personnel and $5 for students.

The final performance of "Dvorák and America" will be held at New Bern Riverfront Convention Center on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for this New Bern Series concert range from $30 to $42, with $30 tickets for seniors and $10 for students.

For tickets to any of these concerts, as well as $65 dinner concert tickets to the North Carolina Symphony's Pub Series performance of Dvorák's "American" String Quartet at Humble Pie in Raleigh on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 6:00 p.m., visit the North Carolina Symphony website at www.ncsymphony.org or call North Carolina Symphony Audience Services at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724.

Meymandi Concert Hall is located in the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., in Raleigh.

Memorial Hall is located on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, at 208 E. Cameron Ave.

Seabrook Auditorium is located on the Fayetteville State University campus, at 1200 Murchison Road.

New Bern Riverfront Convention Center is located at 203 S. Front St. in New Bern.

About the North Carolina Symphony

Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony performs over 175 concerts annually to adults and school children in more than 50 North Carolina counties. An entity of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, the orchestra employs 67 professional musicians, under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Grant Llewellyn, Resident Conductor William Henry Curry and Associate Conductor Sarah Hicks.

Based in downtown Raleigh's spectacular Meymandi Concert Hall at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts and an outdoor summer venue at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C., the Symphony performs about 60 concerts annually in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary metropolitan area. It holds regular concert series in Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines and Wilmington-as well as individual concerts in many other North Carolina communities throughout the year-and conducts one of the most extensive education programs of any U.S. orchestra.

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