This preview has been provided by the North Carolina Symphony.

The North Carolina Symphony, led by Resident Conductor & Summerfest Artistic Director William Henry Curry will perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, featuring pianist Di Wu, Saturday, June 15, at 7:30 p.m.as part of the 2013 Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series. Gates open at 5 p.m. Children 12 and under are admitted free on the lawn.  

In addition to Rachmaninoff’s tour de force brought to life by the dazzling pianist Di Wu, concert-goers will hear Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila, by Mikhail Glinka, and Waltz from The Sleeping Beauty, Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32, and Capriccio italien, Op. 45, all from Tchaikovsky.

Praised in the Wall Street Journal as “a most mature and sensitive pianist” and named one of the “up-and-coming talents” in classical music by Musical America, Chinese-born Di Wu continues to enhance her reputation as an elegant and powerful musician. Her concerts have taken her across the globe, charming audiences from East to West with her “charisma, steely technique and keen musical intelligence” (Philadelphia Inquirer) and her “fire and authority” (Washington Post).  Wu is the winner of multiple awards including a coveted prize at the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition, the Juilliard School’s Petschek Award, and the Virtuosi Prize at Lisbon’s prestigious Vendome Competition.

This summer marks the 28th anniversary of performances in Cary and the orchestra’s thirteenth 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 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 Koka Booth Amphitheatre is a wonderful summer bargain for families.

The eight-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 fourth 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 instrument zoos for kids.

Tickets and Subscriptions

General admission lawn seating to “At the Movies: A Night of Oscar-Winning Music and More” is $28 in advance, $30 at the door. Covered table seating is also available for $30 in advance, $32 at the door. Children 12 and under are admitted free for lawn seating at all Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series concerts. For more on becoming a series subscriber, visit the Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series page at www.ncsymphony.org/subscriptions.

This year’s series lineup also includes “Broadway Blockbusters,” featuring vocalists Scott MacLeod and Elizabeth Williams-Grayson and Symphony Associate Concertmaster Dovid Friedlander, June 22; “Holst’s the Planets: An HD Odyssey,” featuring the North Carolina Master Chorale, June 29; the Symphony’s free “Independence Day” concert, July 4; and “Classic Celebrations: 1812 Overture,” featuring the Concert Singers of Cary, July 6.

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.

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.

The series is presented by Rex Healthcare and co-sponsored by ABB, First Citizens Bank and the Town of Cary. Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series partners are Balentine and CaptiveAire. Media partners are the News & Observer, Fox 50, and Cary Magazine.

About the North Carolina Symphony

Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony performs over 175 concerts 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 65 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.

Program

North Carolina Symphony
Summerfest “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”
William Henry Curry, Resident Conductor & Summerfest Artistic Director
Di Wu, piano

Saturday, June 15 2013, 7:30pm
Booth Amphitheatre, Cary

Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila
Mikhail Glinka

Waltz from The Sleeping Beauty
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Di Wu, piano

Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Capriccio italien, Op. 45
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky