This preview has been provided by the North Carolina Symphony.

Music Director Grant Llewellyn and the North Carolina Symphony will welcome cellist Zuill Bailey as it performs music from three Russian composers in Memorial Hall on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7:30 p.m., and again on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21, at 8 p.m., in Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh.

The concerts will include Alexander Borodin’s Overture to Prince Igor and In the Steppes of Central Asia, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture, and Bailey’s performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s Sinfonia concertante, which will be recorded at the Raleigh performances for future release. Bailey’s 2014 release of Britten’s Cello Symphony and Sonata, recorded live with Grant Llewellyn and the North Carolina Symphony, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Music chart and remained in the Top 10 for eight months.

Cellist Zuill Bailey’s distinctive combination of artistry, technical skill, and charisma has secured his place as one of the most sought after and active solo artists today.  He has appeared with the symphony orchestras of Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit, Indianapolis, Dallas, Nashville, Toronto, Minnesota, and abroad in Israel, Cape Town, Cuba and beyond.  In addition to his Britten recording with the North Carolina Symphony, other critically acclaimed recordings include the Bach Cello Suites, his live performances with the Indianapolis Symphony of the Elgar and Dvořák Cello Concertos, and both Beethoven’s and Brahms’ complete works for Cello and Piano.

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 Chapel Hill performance on Feb. 19, Symphony Scholar-in-Residence William Robin will host a pre-concert talk in Gerrard Hall at 6:30 p.m.  Before the Friday, Feb. 20, and Saturday Feb. 21, performances in Raleigh, Robin will give pre-concert talks at 7 p.m. in the Swalin Lobby of Meymandi Concert Hall. 

Tickets to the Chapel Hill Classical Series performance on Feb. 19, and to the Raleigh Classical Series performances on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21, range from $18 to $65.  Student tickets are $10.  Concert tickets at all performances are also available at the door one hour prior to concert start time.

Meymandi Concert Hall is located in the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., in Raleigh.  Memorial Hall is located at 114 East Cameron Ave., on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Partners for the 2014/15 Raleigh Classical Series include Clancy & Theys Construction; Duke Realty; Smith Anderson; Duke Medicine; Marriott; and 18 Seaboard.  Reception sponsored by Bailey’s Fine Jewelry.

Partners for the 2014/15 Chapel Hill Series include Carol Woods Retirement Community, and The Businesses of Market Street, Southern Village.

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.

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.

Feb. 19 Concert/Event Listings:

North Carolina Symphony
Russian Spectacular
Grant Llewellyn, conductor
Zuill Bailey, cello
Thursday, Feb. 19, 7:30pm
Memorial Hall, UNC-Chapel Hill

Feb. 20-21 Concert/Event Listings
North Carolina Symphony
Russian Spectacular
Grant Llewellyn, conductor
Zuill Bailey, cello
Feb. 20-21, 2015, 8 p.m.
Meymandi Concert Hall, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh

Feb. 19-21 Program Listing

North Carolina Symphony
Russian Spectacular
Grant Llewellyn, conductor
Zuill Bailey, cello

BORODIN:  Overture to Prince Igor

BORODIN:  In the Steppes of Central Asia

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV:  Russian Easter Overture

PROKOFIEV:  Sinfonia concertante
       Zuill Bailey, cello