This preview has been provided by the North Carolina symphony.

The North Carolina Symphony, led by conductor Marcelo Lehninger, will perform Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto Sunday, Jan. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Lee Auditorium at Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines. In addition to the “Emperor” Concerto, which features pianist Inon Barnatan, the program will include Brahms “Tragic Overture” and “Suspend,” by Andrew Norman.

Brazilian-born Marcelo Lehninger is Music Director of the New West Symphony Orchestra in Los Angeles. For his work there, he was awarded the Helen M. Thompson Award for Emerging Music Director in 2014 by the League of American Orchestras. He recently concluded an appointment as Associate Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. As a guest conductor Mr. Lehninger has led numerous orchestras in the United States including Chicago, Houston, Baltimore, Seattle, the National Symphony, and Rochester Philharmonic. Orchestras abroad include Lucerne Symphony, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestre National de France.

Celebrated for the unique approach, probing intellect, and consummate artistry that he brings to a broad range of repertoire, Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan currently serves as the first Artist-in-Association of the New York Philharmonic. This unprecedented three-season appointment sees him appear as soloist in subscription concerts, take part in regular chamber performances, and act as ambassador for the orchestra. Awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2009, Mr. Barnatan has performed extensively with many of the world’s foremost orchestras, including those of Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

Other concerts in the 2015/16 Southern Pines/Moore County Series include:

  • “Orchestral Love Stories” on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, at 8 p.m., with Music Director Grant Llewellyn. Classic love stories through the ages, with selections from Romeo and Juliet, Carmen, Samson and Delilah and Tristan and Isolde, plus much more.
  • Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on Tuesday, March 22, 2016, at 8 p.m. The concert which features the talents of Symphony musicians Karen Strittmatter Galvin, violin, Elizabeth Phelps, violin, Jacqueline Saed Wolborsky, violin, Dovid Friedlander, violin, and Rebekah Binford, violin, will showcase Vivaldi’s masterpiece, plus Musica celestis from Aaron Jay Kernis, and “Seeing is Believing” by Nico Muhly. Grant Llewellyn conducts.
  • Beethoven’s Violin Concerto on Thursday, April 28, 2016, at 8 p.m., is the Season Finale. Led by Grant Llewellyn, the violin concerto will be performed by Noah Bendix-Balgley. The orchestra will also perform “Absolute Jest” by John Adams.

Tickets to the Southern Pines Series performance on Jan. 17, 2016 range from $24 to $48. Student tickets are $10. 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 at The Country Bookshop, 140 NW Broad St., in Southern Pines, the Campbell House, 482 East Connecticut Ave. in Southern Pines, and one hour prior to the concert outside Lee Auditorium at Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Lane, Southern Pines, N.C., 28387.

In addition to stellar performances, North Carolina Symphony concertgoers can enjoy pre-concert talks, post-concert discussions, and “Meet the Artists,” which feature interactive conversations with guest artists and select orchestra members, at many Symphony events. Before the Jan. 17, 2016, performance, Timothy Haley of Sandhills Community College will give a talk at 6:30 p.m. in the Pinecrest High School Band Room.

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 Natural and 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.

Based 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.

Jan. 17, 2016 Concert/Event Listings:

North Carolina Symphony
Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto
Marcelo Lehninger, conductor
Inon Barnatan, piano

Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, 7:30pm
Lee Auditorium, Pinecrest High School
Southern Pines

BRAHMS:  Tragic Overture in D minor, Op. 81

NORMAN:  Suspend, a fantasy for piano and orchestra

BEETHOVEN:  Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73, “Emperor”
        Inon Barnatan, piano