This preview has been provided by the Clayton Piano Festival.
Dr. Randolph Foy, Professor of Music and Orchestral Studies at North Carolina State University, will share the stage as guest lecturer with international pianist Craig Ketter as he performs “An Orchestra of One,” the final program in this year’s series of piano recitals at the Clayton Piano Festival. The event will take place at the Clayton Center Performing Arts Auditorium on Friday, February 15 at 7:30 p.m..
Dr. Foy will provide insights on the evening’s music throughout the program, which Mr. Ketter has designed as a tribute to the piano’s endless resource for sound and expressive scope. ” An Orchestra of One” examines repertoire which was either composed for orchestra and later transcribed for the piano, or music for orchestra which was originally conceived on the piano. Included are works by Ravel, Liszt, Wagner, and Mussorgsky.
Foy and Ketter are both well-known to Triangle area audiences. Dr. Foy leads the Raleigh Civic Symphony and Chamber Orchestra and Mr. Ketter, a Raleigh native, has performed as a soloist in concert with the North Carolina Symphony.
Clayton Piano Festival was founded by Clayton-bred pianist Jonathan Levin in 2012. It will open its second season on Feb. 7 and run through Feb. 15 with a series of recitals, lectures and a master class designed to bring great music to people of all ages.
“I felt an obligation as a classical musician not only to create opportunities for myself but to present what we do in a unique and appealing way to diverse audiences,” said Levin, who was a top prize winner at the recent Los Angeles International Liszt Competition.
The events will take place at the Clayton Center Performing Arts Auditorium and the historic Wagner House in downtown Clayton, fifteen minutes from the Triangle.
Levin said that the Festival programs are meant to be both informative and informal. “The idea is not just to put on great concerts but to engage the audience in a personal, relaxed and meaningful way,” he said.
Admission to most programs is $12 adults, $8 students and seniors, and children eight and under are free. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online through etix at http://www.etix.com/ticket/online/venueSearch.jsp?venue_id=1959&cobrand=theclaytoncenter
For more information and detailed descriptions of programs and venues, call (919) 606-9703 or email: claytonpianofestival@gmail.com
About the Artists
Dr. Randolph Foy is teaching Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities at North Carolina State University, and conductor of the Raleigh Civic Symphony & Chamber Orchestra.
He has conducted in the Baltimore/Washington area, and has taught at the University of Richmond, NC School of Science and Mathematics (founding faculty), and NC School of the Arts. In addition to his teaching and administrative duties as Associate Director of the Department of Music at North Carolina State University, Dr. Foy conducts and teaches at the Governor’s School of NC in Winston-Salem, a summer program for gifted high school students.
He has been called, “…an inspired and inspiring director,” and, “…a totally committed musician whose mission is to spark in his audience the same level of enthusiasm that he clearly feels.” In May, 2006, Dr. Foy was awarded the City of Raleigh Medal of Arts for presenting a wide variety of concerts of unusual repertoire that enhance the cultural life of the community.
Craig Ketter, a native of Raleigh, NC has performed as soloist with the North Carolina Symphony, the Sacramento Philharmonic, the Oakland East Bay Symphony, the South Orange Symphony, the Raleigh Symphony, the Durham Symphony, the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, the Rocky Ridge Music Festival Orchestra, and the American Festival for the Arts Orchestra. As a collaborative artist, he has performed with opera sensations, Ben Heppner, Samuel Ramey and Deborah Voigt.
