News Release

Taylor, symphony, going to Carolina
to receive lifetime achievement awards

CHAPEL HILL - James Taylor and the North Carolina Symphony will perform his widely beloved "Carolina in My Mind" in a ceremony on Oct. 1 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Chancellor James Moeser will present Taylor and the orchestra with the university's 2006 lifetime achievement awards for the performing arts in the 4 p.m. ceremony in Memorial Hall. The orchestra also will perform "Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell," by Benjamin Britten.

The event benefits Carolina Performing Arts, now presenting its second expanded season of high-profile artists - made possible by the hall's renovation.

Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Taylor has released more than two dozen records and singles, many of them chart toppers in the 1970s and early 1980s. Besides his signature "Carolina in My Mind," his hits include "Fire and Rain," "Sweet Baby James" and "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)."

Taylor, who grew up in Chapel Hill, was inducted into both the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2000. His father, Dr. Isaac Taylor, joined the UNC School of Medicine faculty in 1952 and was dean of the school from 1964-1971.

Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony in its first three years - with mostly unpaid musicians from local communities - performed more than 140 concerts in 50 towns and cities statewide.

Now in its 75th year, the symphony, with music director Grant Llewellyn, continues its commitment to the state. Its programs include Children's Education Concerts, which have brought the symphony into North Carolina Schools.

Ceremony tickets for the public, ranging from $40 to $100, are available by calling or visiting the Memorial Hall box office (919-843-3333), open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. UNC faculty and staff tickets are $25.

Four hundred tickets are reserved for UNC-Chapel Hill students, available free on a first-come, first-served basis. These tickets will be distributed, two per valid UNC One Card, from 10 a.m. Sept. 20 through Sept. 27 at the box office. Students can purchase more tickets at the faculty and staff price.

The Carolina Performing Arts Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an alumnus or alumna, organization or exceptional individual whose work in the performing arts has greatly contributed to life at the university and enriched American culture.

Recipients are selected for their efforts to advance the arts locally and nationally; for accomplishments acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the public; and because their work has stood the test of time.

Last year, the first awards were presented to Richard Adler, a 1943 graduate, and Andy Griffith, who graduated in 1949. Also receiving a 2005 award was Maxine Swalin, who, with her late husband, Benjamin, revived the North Carolina Symphony on the UNC campus in the 1940s.

Carolina Performing Arts seeks to present the best from the full spectrum of the performing arts: internationally renowned recitalists; orchestras, dance and chamber ensembles; jazz, folk and world music performers; and opera and theatre.

The organization is committed to inviting outstanding professional artists to perform and teach; fostering a deep appreciation of a wide variety of the performing arts at the university, in the local community and throughout the region; and establishing Carolina as a leader in the performing arts in the southeastern United States.

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Carolina Performing Arts contact: Don Smith, (919) 843-3119, donsmith@email.unc.edu