About Us: Press Releases

After a 32-month international search, the North Carolina Symphony begins its 2004-05 season with brilliant new Music Director Grant Llewellyn. Already much admired by Symphony musicians and audiences alike, Llewellyn is praised around the world for his “sharp intelligence,” “buoyant, robust [conducting],” and his “wizardry with a wand.” The upcoming season will provide “our first glimpses of Grant Llewellyn as our new music director,” says Symphony president and CEO David Chambless Worters, “as well as sensational guest artists on both the pops and Summerfest line-ups. We’ll enjoy extraordinary music for all musical tastes.”

Says Grant Llewellyn, “I’m a very happy man and a very lucky man. We have a unique set of ingredients here which we can combine to make a truly great orchestra. No matter what is on the program, people are going to come and have a great time.” Joining Llewellyn and the orchestra for the Classical Series are extraordinary guest artists including pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, violinist Elmar Oliveiria, classical guitarist Eliot Fisk and the extraordinary cellist Lynn Harrell. The season’s repertoire includes works by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Rameau, Rachmaninoff, and Brahms. Of the twelve classical programs, Llewellyn will conduct five, including the opening concerts on September 17 & 18, 2004 which feature symphonies by Haydn and Mahler. Other classical highlights include a special “Night at the Opera” concert featuring singers from the North Carolina School of the Arts Fletcher Opera Institute, Beethoven’s magnificent Symphony No. 3, “Eroica,” the world première of a guitar concerto by Robert Beaser, and a work by the orchestra’s bass trombonist Terry Mizesko, commissioned by the North Carolina Symphony in honor of the 2005 U.S. Open in Pinehurst. Guest conductors James DePreist, William Eddins and Edwin Outwater will lead the orchestra, as well as North Carolina Symphony Conductor Laureate Gerhardt Zimmermann and associate conductor William Henry Curry.

On the Pops Series, the Symphony will host stunning guest artists such as the legendary Art Garfunkel and hot young piano/vocal sensation Peter Cincotti. Also on the series is “Let’s Face the Music and Dance,” a tribute to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, as well as a semi-staged version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s ever-popular operetta The Mikado.

Beginning its fourth season in 2004, the Sunday Masterworks features well-known and well-loved classics such as Copland’s Suite from Appalachian Spring, Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter” and Haydn’s Mass in Time of War, featuring the Durham Choral Society. Concertmaster Brian Reagin and principal trumpet Paul Randall are featured soloists on this season’s series. Both the Durham and Chapel Hill Series will offer performances featuring the same great programs and artists that make up the Classical Series and the Sunday Masterworks Series.

The Symphony’s popular Young People’s Series presents three wonderful concerts, perfect for introducing children to great classical music. On November 13, 2004 “Tchaikovsky Discovers America” tells the story of the great composer’s arrival in New York for the grand opening of Carnegie Hall; on January 15, 2005, associate conductor William Henry Curry celebrates the American spirit with works by Copland and Gould, as well as the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his own work “Eulogy for a Dream.” Finally, on April 2, 2005, “Kids, Cameras and Classics: The Most Beautiful Music You’ve Ever Seen” combines inspiring music with the photochoreography of James Westwater.

This season’s Summerfest at the acclaimed Amphitheatre at Regency Park in Cary promises to be one of the best yet. Opening on June 5, 2004 with Grammy Award-winning conductor and vocalist Bobby McFerrin, the Triangle’s favorite concerts under the stars also feature the incomparable k.d. lang and Broadway superstar Terrence Mann in “From Hair to Hairspray: A Generation of Rock Musicals.” In addition, the Independence Day concert and fireworks along with evenings of hot-blooded Gypsy music, movie scores and more create pure summer magic.

Three special events round out the exciting 2004-05 season. As always, the Symphony will present its traditional New Year’s Eve Concert and Gala. On April 3, 2005, living legend Alfred Brendel will appear in recital at Meymandi Concert Hall. Widely regarded as the world’s greatest classical pianist, this concert will truly be a rare opportunity to hear a gifted and celebrated artist. And finally, the season Gala and concert on May 12, 2005 features world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman, conducted by Music Director Grant Llewellyn.

For more details and information about subscription options, dates, times and ticket prices, click on Season Subscriptions.

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