North Carolina Symphony Celebrates Independence Day in Wilmington, 7/2

The North Carolina Symphony invites Wilmington residents to beat the summer heat and join the orchestra inside Kenan Auditorium to celebrate our nation's 236th birthday. Music Director Grant Llewellyn leads the Symphony in "Stars and Stripes," featuring patriotic highlights and symphonic favorites to honor the USA right before its birthday.

The concert takes place at Kenan Auditorium on the UNC-Wilmington campus, Monday, July 2 at 7:30 p.m. The performance marks Music Director Grant Llewellyn first Independence Day performance in Wilmington.

Llewellyn last conducted an Independence Day concert in 2008, and that audience can attest that though he is Welsh, Llewellyn has American patriotism to spare. He launches into the festive program with The Star-Spangled Banner and leads the orchestra in rousing, all-American selections including Sousa's Semper Fidelis March, music from South Pacific and Saving Private Ryan and-in anticipation of the upcoming London Olympics-John Williams's commanding Olympic Fanfare and Theme.

The Symphony's principal trumpet, Paul Randall, is featured as soloist on a pair of challenging numbers: Jacques Offenbach's American Eagle Waltz and Leroy Anderson's A Trumpeter's Lullaby. Audience members will also have the chance to lend their voices to the Symphony's Fourth of July salute with James Stephenson's Sing Along, America!

Tickets for the performance are just $22, with $10 tickets for students. They are available online at the North Carolina Symphony's website, www.ncsymphony.org, or by calling the Symphony Box Office at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724.