NC Symphony to perform at TCCC
Famous orchestra visits the mountains next week

The North Carolina Symphony with Music Director Grant Llewellyn.

Musicians from across the state will share the stage with the North Carolina Symphony in Capital Bank's "Blue Skies and Red Earth," a late May celebration that showcases the richness of the traditional music of North Carolina.

The performance, which marks the first time the North Carolina Symphony has been in this area in more than 15 years, will be held Thursday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Enloe Building at Tri-County Community College. Tickets are $35 for reserved seats, $10 for adults, and $5 for TCCC students, children 12 and under, and seniors, and are available on the TCCC campus. Call Dotie Ortega at (828) 835-4208 for more information.

Originally presented in Raleigh's Meymandi Concert Hall at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in September 2006, the success of the Blue Skies concerts prompted Capital Bank to bring the music to North Carolinians living far from Raleigh.

"This concert is exciting on so many levels," said Symphony General Manager Scott Freck. "In addition to spectacular solo performances, we have some exciting collaborations with the symphony."

Music Director Grant Llewellyn is looking forward to performing this timeless music with the orchestra. "As a Welshman," he said, "I come from a country of people who love to sing and play traditional music. I'm thrilled to learn more about the traditional music of North Carolina and bring it to new audiences in our state."

The history of the music of "Blue Skies and Red Earth":

* River Cane Flute: North Carolina folk music embraces a breathtaking body of traditions that reflects the intermingling of peoples and cultures over decades and centuries. "Blue Skies and Red Earth" begins by honoring the Native American peoples who flourished for thousands of years before European settlement. Carved from wood and reed, this simple, elegant instrument has come to express the deep spirituality of native peoples across our land.

* The ballad: The most enduring form of English music in North Carolina is the ballad. Passed from generation to generation and inevitably carried to America, the ballad found especially fertile ground in the Appalachian Mountains. Today, ballad singing remains strongest in Madison County, North Carolina, close to Asheville. It is here where eighth-generation singer Donna Ray Norton, her family and friends are preserving the tradition for generations to come.

* Fiddle and banjo: The essential instrument of early British and European settlers was the highly portable violin. Even one good fiddler could fuel a dance party for hours. At the same time, the polyphonic sounds of West Africa were being heard with increasing force as the institution of slavery began to profoundly shape the American experience. The contributions of African Americans to our musical heritage cannot be overstated. The banjo derives from African stringed instruments and was embraced by white musicians in the early 19th century. When banjo and fiddle players (white and African American) learned to make music together, they created a dynamic new American sound that joined the musical styles and sensibilities of Europe and Africa and includes virtually every form of American music popular today.

* Gospel: At the center of African American social and cultural life since slavery times, the church has given rise to majestic song styles and powerful performers. Within a few years of the Civil War's end, concerts of spirituals electrified audiences in northern cities and European capitals. A more modern gospel sound emerged in the 20th century, which energized the rhythm & blues and soul music of the 1960s and beyond.

* The Blues: By the early 1900s, blues and jazz music had germinated in the Deep South. North Carolina established its own distinctive Piedmont blues style in the 1930s that favored spirited uptempo guitar finger-picking. The tobacco markets of Durham and other cities provided an informal showcase for the now legendary talents of bluesmen like Reverend Gary Davis, Blind Boy Fuller, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.

* Jazz: Jazz has also played a prominent role in the state's history. Thelonius Monk and John Coltrane are native sons and Billy Strayhorn, the brilliant composer and arranger closely associated with Duke Ellington, learned to play the piano at his family home in Hillsborough. Contemporary jazz artists such as Nnenna Freelon of Durham are making their mark today.

* Bluegrass: Many people assume that bluegrass music, a North Carolina specialty, is old as the hills, but these supercharged string-band ensembles are a post WWII phenomenon that draw heavily on blues and jazz. Kentuckian Bill Monroe organized the first modern bluegrass band, but his Bluegrass Boys did not take off until Tar heel Earl Scruggs added his blistering five-string banjo-picking style to the lineup. Scruggs and Deep Gap native Doc Watson are the elder statesmen of North Carolina's bluegrass tradition.

From this breathtaking body of traditions, the "Blue Skies and Red Earth" concert took shape. Performers featured in these performances are:

* Cherokee flute player John Grant, Jr.

* Eighth generation ballad singer Donna Ray Norton

* Award-winning fiddler Ted Ehrhard

* Vocalist and actress Tina Morris-Anderson

* Banjo player Riley Baugus, who performed on the "Cold Mountain" soundtrack

* Piedmont bluesmen John Cephas and Phil Wiggins

* Al Batten and the Bluegrass Reunion

* The Bailey Mountain Cloggers from Mars Hill

The narrator for the May performances is Grammy Award-winning folk musician and storyteller David Holt. A longtime resident of North Carolina, Holt is nationally acclaimed for his skill in presenting the music and stories of the southern Appalachians and American South.