My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

Bluegrass Mandolin and Mozart at Western Piedmont Symphony

The concert will take place on May 17.

By:
Bluegrass Mandolin and Mozart at Western Piedmont Symphony

Western Piedmont Symphony will present MASTERWORKS: SYMPHONY SWINGS on Saturday, May 17, featuring guest artist Jeff Midkiff, composer and mandolinist.

This season, the regional professional orchestra celebrates 60 years of music in the foothills of western North Carolina with more than seventeen concerts featuring music from across the centuries, from Bach to Beethoven, Stravinsky to Ravel, Gershwin to Ellington, and more.

This MASTERWORKS concert celebrates joyous symphonic masterpieces by the comedic opera master Gioachino Rossi, La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) Overture, the grandeur and vitality of W.A. Mozart, Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter," and the regional Bluegrass sounds of a new mandolin concert, "From the Blue Ridge" by composer and mandolinist Jeff Midkiff.

"This Masterworks concert sparkles with a mix of familiar and new music by beloved composers such as Mozart and Rossini with a surprising regional sound of symphonic Bluegrass," noted WPS music director Matthew Troy. "Midkiff's "From the Blue Ridge" mandolin concerto showcases his roots in the region and his love for the bluegrass music tradition, with a touch of swing and jazz in the mix."

MASTERWORKS: MOZART AND THE MANDOLIN is sponsored by Century Furniture, Alex Lee, Inc., and the Kenneth K. and Suzanne G. Millholland Endowment Fund. Season media partner is Our State Magazine. Western Piedmont Symphony also receives funding support from Arts Culture Catawba and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

MASTERWORKS tickets are $20, $30, $40, $50 for adults, and $10 for students with valid ID. Concert start time is 7:30 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit wpsymphony.org, call 828.324.8603, or visit the WPS Box Office, located on the SALT Block at 243 Third Avenue NE, Hickory, NC, 28601. Box Office hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Wed. - Fri. P.E. Monroe Auditorium is located at 775 6th St. NE, Hickory, NC 28601 (on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University).



Theater Fans' Choice Awards
2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats
Best Choreography - Top 3
1. Lauren Yalango-Grant, Christopher Cree Grant - The Lost Boys
22.9% of votes
2. Christopher Gattelli - Schmigadoon!
19.1% of votes
3. Omari Wiles, Arturo Lyons - CATS: The Jellicle Ball
17.6% of votes

Need more Charlotte Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Spring season, discounts & more...


Videos


Her Name Was Frankie: A Frankie Silver Story in Charlotte Her Name Was Frankie: A Frankie Silver Story
Parkway Playhouse (10/02-10/11)
The Mystery of Edwin Drood in Charlotte The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The Little Theatre of Winston Salem (6/05-6/21)
Peter and the Starcatcher in Charlotte Peter and the Starcatcher
Parkway Playhouse (7/31-8/09)
2026-27 First Bank Broadway Season - Friday Night Plan in Charlotte 2026-27 First Bank Broadway Season - Friday Night Plan
Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts (8/20-8/20)
CINDERELLA by The United European Ballet Company in Charlotte CINDERELLA by The United European Ballet Company
Knight Theater (10/08-10/08)
2026-27 First Bank Broadway Season - Wednesday Night Plan in Charlotte 2026-27 First Bank Broadway Season - Wednesday Night Plan
Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts (8/18-8/18)
Tim McGraw & 49 Winchester in Charlotte Tim McGraw & 49 Winchester
Truliant Amphitheater (8/14-8/14)
Unto These Hills in Charlotte Unto These Hills
Mountainside Theatre (5/30-8/22)
Carswell Holler in Charlotte Carswell Holler
Parkway Playhouse (8/20-8/23)
Disney's Finding Nemo KIDS in Charlotte Disney's Finding Nemo KIDS
Parkway Playhouse (6/19-6/20)