News Release

Fall abounds with performances
hosted by UNC’s music department

By KIM SPURR
College of Arts and Sciences

CHAPEL HILL — Music lovers will find diverse performances in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill music department’s 2005-2006 concert season — featuring everything from Beethoven, a string quartet and a stellar pianist to salsa music and musical theater.

Assistant director of bands Matthew McClure will kick off the season tonight (Sept. 2) with a saxophone recital at 8 p.m. in Person Recital Hall. The season will feature more than 100 different performances through April 28.

"Our new concert season showcases the best of our faculty, students and guests," said Dr. Tim Carter, professor and music department chair at UNC. "Fall highlights include our performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for the opening celebration for Memorial Hall. We inaugurate a special relationship with the Brentano String Quartet, and we combine efforts with the departments of dramatic art and history to present Marc Blitzstein’s ‘The Cradle Will Rock.’"

Call (919) 962-1039 for tickets and more information, unless otherwise noted below. Season highlights will include:

Sept. 30, 8 p.m.: Pianist Nelita True, part of the William S. Newman Artists Series. Hill Hall Auditorium. Tickets: $15 (seniors, $12; students, $5.) One of the world’s foremost piano clinicians performs and conducts a three-day residency. Master classes and lectures, Oct. 1 and 2.

Oct. 28, 8 p.m., Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, performed by the UNC Symphony Orchestra and Choirs, part of the William S. Newman Artists Series. Memorial Hall. Tickets: $30 and $15 (students, $10.) Premium seating available, call (919) 843-3333.

Nov. 10, 8 p.m. The Brentano String Quartet, part of the William S. Newman Artists Series. Hill Hall Auditorium. Tickets: $15 (seniors, $12; students, $5.) The first event of a residency bringing this important American ensemble to the department and campus.

Nov. 21, 8 p.m. Salsa Music and Dance, Charanga Carolina. Great Hall, Student Union. Free. Charanga Carolina is the only university-based charanga ensemble in North Carolina and possibly in the country. The Cuban ensemble features flute, violins, brass, piano, bass and percussion.

Nov. 29-Dec. 6. "The Cradle Will Rock" at Carolina. When it was first produced in 1936, "The Cradle Will Rock" triggered a political firestorm and changed the face of American theater. American composer Marc Blitzstein wrote the opera as a commentary on his times. While the rest of the musical theater world was producing light airy shows that had little plot and a lot of show, Blitzstein wanted to deal with serious issues. The opera tells a pro-union story about lower-class workers trying to survive in a power-hungry world. The UNC departments of dramatic art, history and music team up to bring this theatrical masterpiece to life.

All events below are free unless otherwise noted:

• Nov. 29, 4 p.m. symposium: "How the Cradle Rocked the Boat." Kresge Foundation Commons Room, Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, Graham Memorial Building.
  
• Nov. 29, 8:15 p.m.: Open dress rehearsal and post-show discussion. Historic Playmakers Theatre.
  
• Nov. 30, 8 p.m.: Open dress rehearsal and post-show discussion. Carolina Union Auditorium.
  
• Dec. 1, noon: "From Cradle to Grave: Songs of Blitzstein, Weill and Sondheim," performance by students and faculty from the departments of dramatic art and music, with music professor Dr. Terry Rhodes on piano. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, Graham Memorial Building.
  
• Dec. 2-6: "The Cradle Will Rock," presented by Mainstage of the dramatic art department and the UNC Opera of the music department. Friday, Dec. 2 – Monday, Dec. 5, 8:15 p.m.; Monday, Dec. 5, 4 p.m.; Tuesday, Dec. 6, 5 p.m. Historic Playmakers Theatre. Tickets: $5, general admission.

For a look ahead at the spring season, the music department will host its third biennial Festival on the Hill in March 2006, combining performances and a conference on music from Black Mountain College. Black Mountain was a North Carolina institution that was a center for the artistic avant-garde, Carter said.

In other highlights, the 2006 Carolina Jazz Festival, featuring a broad range of jazz performances, will be held March 1-4.

For more information on the season, visit the music calendar at http://www.unc.edu/depts/music/concerts.html or call (919) 962-1039.

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Music department contact: Glenn McDonald, (919) 962-1039 or gmm@unc.edu

College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid, (919) 843-6339 or deereid@unc.edu