We are saddened to hear of the passing of international mezzo soprano, Clara O’Brien of Greensboro, North Carolina. She was 62 years old. Please read her obituatary written on Slippedisc by Normal LeBrecht here. Our...
Read MoreBrother Larry: Jazz Griot (1950-2023)
Pastor Kojo Nantambu and others have called him a jazz griot as is most appropriate for Larry Reni Thomas who was a master storyteller and historian that passed June 30, 2023. His unflinching stands on the Black struggle in...
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Rest in Peace, Phyllis Garriss
Phyllis Garriss touched many lives here in North Carolina. Our thoughts are with those who loved...
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Gerhardt Zimmermann, N.C. Symphony Orchestra Maestro: An Appreciation
When the news came last week of the death of former North Carolina Symphony music director,...
Read MoreRemembering Longtime Maestro of North Carolina Synphony: Gerhardt Zimmermann (1945-2023)
It is with deep sadness that we announce the sudden and unexpected passing of Gerhardt Zimmermann, a remarkable man whose indomitable spirit and unwavering determination inspired all who knew him. Gerhart departed this world on...
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R.I.P. Ben Keaton
Ben Keaton, the long-time music director of the Durham Savoyards and Long Leaf Opera, passed away on the afternoon of Jan. 11, following a brief hospitalization. We join his many colleagues, friends, admirers, and former students in mourning his departure from our midst. Details will be added here as they become available.
Read MoreHomily in Memory of William Sands Holloway Hobgood, Jr.
Friends, we have gathered here this Thursday afternoon to praise God and to witness to our faith as we celebrate the life of Sandy Hobgood. We come together in grief, acknowledging our human loss. We come in shock, as unexpected...
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Remarks Delivered at A Celebration of the Life of Robert Ward by Ira David Wood III
Joe L. Wheeler has written: “Time remorselessly rambles down the corridors and streets of our lives. But it is not until autumn that most of us become aware that our tickets are stamped with a terminal destination.” And so it has occurred to me how thoughts must have roamed a bit today as all of us made our separate journeys to reach this place in order to celebrate and honor the life of one man.
Read MoreA Tribute to Van Cliburn, a Larger-than-Life American Artist
Perhaps you have seen it. It’s a fuzzy black-and-white image snapped by an Associated Press photographer during the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow in 1958. The photographer is at the rear of the stage looking out into the audience. Cliburn is seated at the piano, his eyes turned heavenward, as was so often the case. The hall is packed – so crowded that the space between the front row of seats and the stage is jammed with admirers. At the bottom left of the photo are two young women. One has her arms wrapped around the other, and their faces are lit with rapture.
Read Moreby J. Mark Scearce* (& An Additional Tribute by John W. Lambert) Roger Hannay was the first person I called when the NC Symphony approached me in January 2005 to help them organize a 75th anniversary commissioning project....
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