Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Appalachia Tour - Day 1

Charleston, WV 

Bringing the music of native Charleston, WV composer George Crumb to Appalachia is one of Orchestra 2001's greatest honors to date.  The tour appropriately started in the home town of Mr. Crumb with a concert with the Charleston Chamber Music Society and truly allowed us to see the natural beauty of this rich mountainous region of the US.  We were honored to be the first contemporary music performance in the 70 year history of the Charleston Chamber Society.



The Kanawha River at Court St. in Charleston, WV.

The University of Charleston's Geary Auditorium proved to be a wonderful space for the music of George Crumb and we were heartily thanked even as the presentation began with a brief panel discussion with Orchestra 2001's artistic director and founder James Freeman, pianist Marcantonio Barone, and baritone Patrick Mason.  The audience was also very grateful for an opportunity to inspect the many instruments used for the performance immediately after the performance.  With over 150 percussion instruments as well as extended techniques utilized on the piano the audience had a chance to see and hear the variety of sounds created up close.



A panel discussion prior to the performance helped the audience
to grasp the many unique sounds that they would soon hear.

The performance that followed was well received and was even reviewed in Charleston's local newspaper the following morning where it received a glowing review that held such warm sincerity that we left Charleston for our next concert with even more enthusiasm than we had felt as we arrived in Charleston.

performers left to right:
soprano Ann Crumb, conductor James Freeman, percussionist Greg Giannascoli, 
baritone Patrick Mason, and percussionist Bill Kerrigan

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