This preview has been provided by the North Carolina Symphony.

Acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell, whose technical brilliance and passionate playing makes him one of classical music’s most sought-after artists will perform a special concert with Music Director Grant Llewellyn and the North Carolina Symphony Tuesday, May 12 at 7:30 p.m., in Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh. 

Bell will perform the Concerto in D minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 47 by Jean Sibelius.  The concert will also feature three other works by Sebelius – Finlandia, Op. 26, No. 7, the Suite from Karelia, Op. 11, and The Swan of Tuonela, Op. 22, No. 3, which will feature Symphony English horn Michael P. Schultz.

Joshua Bell is one of the most celebrated violinists of his era. His restless curiosity, passion, and multi-faceted musical interests have earned him the rare title of “classical music superstar.” Recently named the Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Mr. Bell is the first person to hold this post since Sir Neville Marriner formed the orchestra in 1958.

In 2007, Mr. Bell performed incognito in a subway station for a Washington Post story examining art and context. The story earned writer Gene Weingarten a Pulitzer Prize and sparked an international firestorm of discussion which continues thanks to the children’s book, The Man With the Violin by Kathy Stinson illustrated by Dušan Petricic from Annick Press.

An exclusive Sony Classical artist, Mr. Bell has recorded more than 40 CDs since his first recording at age 18 on the Decca Label which have garnering Mercury, Grammy, Gramophone and Echo Klassik awards. Born in Bloomington, Indiana, he received his first violin at age four and at 12 began studying with Josef Gingold at Indiana University. Two years later Mr. Bell came to national attention in his debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra and, at 17, debuted at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Bell performs on the 1713 Huberman Stradivarius.

Associate Principal Oboe and solo English horn player, Michael Schultz has been a member of the North Carolina Symphony since 1973. A native of Chicago, Schultz attended Northwestern University and studied with Chicago Symphony oboists Jerry Sirucek, Grover Schiltz, and Ray Still. He was also a member of the Chicago Symphony’s training orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. While still a student at Northwestern, he substituted on a tour with the St. Louis Symphony and cemented his desire to become a professional symphony musician. Prior to joining the North Carolina Symphony, Mr. Schultz served with the US Air Force in the NORAD Band, and put his string background to use playing viola with the Colorado Springs Symphony.

Tickets to Joshua Bell’s performance with the North Carolina Symphony range from $115 to $140.  To purchase tickets, visit the North Carolina Symphony website at www.ncsymphony.org or call the Symphony Box Office at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724.  Tickets are also available one hour prior to the concert.

The sponsor of the concert is Paragon Bank.

About the North Carolina Symphony

Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony gives more than 200 performances 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 66 professional musicians, under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Grant Llewellyn, Resident Conductor William Henry Curry, and Associate Conductor David Glover.

Headquartered in downtown Raleigh’s spectacular Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts and an outdoor summer venue at 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.

North Carolina Symphony
Tuesday, May 12, 7:30 p.m.
Meymandi Concert Hall, Raleigh, NC

North Carolina Symphony
Grant Llewellyn, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin
Michael P. Schultz, English horn

SIBELIUS       Finlandia, Op. 26, No. 7

SIBELIUS       The Swan of Tuonela, Op. 22, No. 3  
          Michael Schultz, English horn

SIBELIUS       Suite from Karelia, Op. 11
  I.   Intermezzo
  II.  Ballade
  III. Alla marcia

SIBELIUS       Concerto in D minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 47
  I.   Allegro moderato
  II.  Adagio di molto
  III. Allegro, ma non tanto
         Joshua Bell, violin