This preview has been provided by the North Carolina Symphony.
The North Carolina Symphony, led by Associate Conductor David Glover will perform Carl Orff’s passionate and powerful Carmina Burana in special concerts Thursday, May 29, at 7:30 p.m., in Memorial Hall on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Friday, May 30, at 8 p.m. in Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh at 8 p.m. The orchestra will also perform the program at Cary’s Booth Amphitheatre Saturday, May 31, at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series.
Carmina Burana, written by Carl Orff in the 1930s, is one of the most popular pieces in the classical music repertoire. Its “O Fortuna” has been used in hundreds of films, including “The Doors,” “The Last of the Mohicans,” “Glory,” and “Excalibur.” Joining the orchestra will be one of the largest collections of musicians and singers to ever come together with the Symphony in a concert, including the Capital City Girls Choir, the North Carolina Master Chorale, and tenor Barry Banks, soprano Heather Buck, and baritone Jason S. McKinney.
Praised as “the kind of performer who makes it all look easy,” Heather Buck has established herself internationally as a consummate singing actress, “combining agile, liquid soprano, a bright, natural stage presence and the timing of an expert comedienne,” (Opera News). Barry Banks’ outstanding facility in roles by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti has brought him to the attention of the world’s leading opera houses. Current season highlights include the Duke of Mantua in English National Opera’s production of Rigoletto; Iago in Otello at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and again at the Salzburg Festival; and performances as Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Metropolitan Opera. Jason S. McKinney has performed with numerous opera companies in the U.S. and in Europe. Some of his favorite roles are the title role in Porgy and Bess, Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro, Colline in Puccini’s La Boheme, Olin Blitch in Carlisle Floyd’s Sussanah and Crown in the Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. As a concert soloist, Mr. McKinney has performed to critical acclaim in Europe, Mexico, the U.S. and Australia.
The Capital City Girls Choir is associated with the School of Music at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Now in its 26th year of service to the communities in the Research Triangle area, the three choirs are open to singers from ages nine through eighteen. The choir has performed to appreciative audiences throughout North Carolina as well as in British Columbia, Italy, England and France.
One of the major choral organizations of the Southeast, the North Carolina Master Chorale has been performing choral-orchestral masterworks for more than 60 years. The Master Chorale boasts two renowned ensembles: a 170-voice symphonic choir and a 22-voice professional chamber choir that presents a diverse repertoire from the Renaissance to Contemporary. Its singers, selected by audition, regularly perform with symphony orchestras, opera companies, ballet and touring productions.
Tickets to the Chapel Hill performance on May 29 range from $18 to $62. Tickets to the Raleigh performance on May 30 range from $18 to $75. Student tickets at both locations are $15. Concert tickets at all performances are also available at the door one hour prior to concert start time.
General admission lawn seating to “Summerfest Opening Night” is $28 in advance, $32 at the door. Covered table seating is also available for $34 at the door. Children 12 and under are admitted free for lawn seating at all Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series concerts.
Memorial Hall is located at 114 East Cameron Ave., on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Symphony provides a free shuttle service from two locations:
· University Mall between Dillards and Wells Fargo bank.
· Southern Villages near the Village Green Stage on Aberdeen Drive.
The shuttle service departs between 6:15 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.
Meymandi Concert Hall is located in the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., in Raleigh.
Booth Amphitheatre is located at 8003 Regency Parkway, just past the intersection of US-1 and US-64/Tryon Road, in Cary. Food and beverages, including wine and beer, are allowed on the grounds. For tickets, visit the North Carolina Symphony website at www.ncsymphony.org or call North Carolina Symphony Audience Services at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724.
More About Summerfest
This summer marks the 29th anniversary of performances in Cary and the orchestra’s fourteenth season in the stunning lakeside pavilion built by the Town of Cary. While performances begin at 7:30 p.m., concertgoers may bring picnics, blankets and lawn chairs as early as 5:30 p.m. to enjoy the striking natural surroundings before the music begins. Children ages 12 and under are free on the lawn, so attending a North Carolina Symphony concert at Booth Amphitheatre is a wonderful summer bargain for families.
The 10-concert Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series offers music lovers a perfect family outing, and once again, concertgoers who display the biggest and boldest culinary skills can win prizes. The Whole Foods Market of Cary Picnic of the Week contest returns for the fifth year. Throughout the summer, groups of concertgoers selected as the best picnickers of that weekend’s concert will receive a $100 gift basket from Whole Foods Market of Cary. Two honorable mentions in the form of $25 gift cards will also be awarded. Select Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series concerts also feature other pre-concert activities, including MetLife Instrument Zoos for kids of all ages.
Summerfest 2014 is presented by Rex Healthcare and co-sponsored by the Town of Cary, First Citizens Bank, Golden Corral – free admission for children 12 and under, MetLife – Instrument Zoo Sponsor, Lord Corporation, Crabtree Valley Mall, and CaptiveAire.
Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series partners are Enrigo Italian Bistro and The Umstead Hotel & Spa. Picnic of the Week partner is Whole Foods Market of Cary.
Media partners are Fox 50, Cary Magazine, Mix 105/WRAL FM and WRAL.com/TV 5.
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 and Resident Conductor William Henry Curry.
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.
May 29-31 Concert/Event Listings:
North Carolina Symphony
“Carmina Burana”
David Glover, Associate Conductor
Heather Buck, soprano
Barry Banks, tenor
Jason S. McKinney, baritone
Capital City Girls Choir
North Carolina Master Chorale
Thursday, May 29, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
Memorial Hall, UNC-Chapel Hill
Friday, May 30, 8 p.m.
Meymandi Concert Hall, Raleigh
Saturday, May 31, 7:30 p.m.
Koka Booth Amphitheatre, Cary
May 29-31 Program
North Carolina Symphony
Carmina Burana
David Glover, Associate Conductor
Heather Buck, soprano
Barry Banks, tenor
Jason S. McKinney, baritone
Capital City Girls Choir
North Carolina Master Chorale
Canzon septimi toni, No. 2
Giovanni Gabrieli (1551-1612)
Ancient Airs and Dances for the Lute, Set 1
Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)
I. Balletto detto Il conte Orlando (Simone Molinaro)
II. Gagliarda (Vincenzo Galilei)
III. Villanella (Ignoto)
IV. Passo messo e mascherada (Ignoto)
Carmina burana
Carl Orff (1895-1982)
Fortuna imperatrix mundi (Fortune, Empress of the World)
I. Primo vere (In Springtime)
Uf dem Anger (On the Green)
II. In taberna (In the Tavern)
III. Cour d’amours (The Court of Love)
Blanziflor et Helena (Blanziflor and Helena)
Fortuna imperatrix mundi
Heather Buck, soprano
Barry Banks, tenor
Jason S. McKinney, baritone
North Carolina Master Chorale
Capital City Girls Choir
