CARY, N.C.– The North Carolina Symphony, led by Resident Conductor & Summerfest Artistic Director William Henry Curry will perform “Broadway Blockbusters,” Saturday, June 22, at 7:30 p.m.as part of the 2013 Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series, at Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre. Gates open at 5 p.m. Children 12 and under are admitted free on the lawn. Maestro Curry and the orchestra will perform an evening of mega-hits from Broadway. Songs include “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables and “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera, plus hits from The Sound of Music, Music Man, Fiddler on the Roof, and many more.
Joining the orchestra on June 22 will be vocalists Elizabeth Williams-Grayson and Scott MacLeod. Also featured will be Symphony Associate Concertmaster Dovid Friedlander. Elizabeth Williams-Grayson has graced the stage nationally and internationally in opera, pops/classical concerts, Broadway and TV. She made her international debut as Grace Kelly in Michael Daugherty’s American opera “Jackie O” at the Teatro Communale di Bologna and Teatro Rossini di Lugo, Italy. She also recently made her debut with Opera Carolina in the “Love Notes” concert gala as soprano soloist and as Musetta in their successful production of “La Boheme.” Among other highlighted performances, she was guest soloist in the “American Voices Concert” performing excerpts and arias from “Ballad of Baby Doe,” “Candide,” “Susannah,” and “Street Scene” with Long Leaf Opera Festival. She also performed with Triangle Opera Studios as Donna Anna in “Don Giovanni.”
Baritone Scott MacLeod excels as a diverse and engaging interpreter of new works and seasoned classics. He has appeared in a variety of venues nationally and abroad, including: Opera Omaha,Central City Opera, Opera North, Utah Festival Opera, Mobile Opera, Duluth Festival Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Greensboro Opera, Opera on the James, the Tucson Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the National Symphony of Costa Rica and Carnegie Hall. His performances have spanned classical and musical theatre genres. Notable roles include the title characters in “Don Giovanni” and “Gianni Schicchi,” Giuseppe in “The Gondoliers,” Count Almaviva in “The Marriage of Figaro,” Gaylord Ravenal in “Show Boat,” Fred/Petruchio in “Kiss Me, Kate,” and Miles Gloriosus in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” Violinist Dovid Friedlander has been a member of the North Carolina Symphony as Associate Concertmaster since 2005. He previously held a position in the Columbus Symphony and was the Assistant Concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony. He has also played with the Boston Symphony at the Tanglewood Music Festival, and regularly with the Pittsburgh Symphony in concerts and on tour, with such conductors as Seiji Ozawa, Mariss Jansons and Claudio Abbado. In addition to playing with the North Carolina Symphony, he is an active chamber musician in the Raleigh area. He also maintains a full teaching studio.
This summer marks the 28th anniversary of performances in Cary and the orchestra’s thirteenth season in the stunning lakeside pavilion built by the Town of Cary. While performances begin at 7:30 p.m., concertgoers may bring picnics, blankets and lawn chairs as early as 5 p.m. to enjoy the striking natural surroundings before the music begins. Children ages 12 and under are free on the lawn, so attending a North Carolina Symphony concert at Booth Amphitheatre is a wonderful summer bargain for families. The Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series offers music lovers a perfect family outing, and once again, concertgoers who display the biggest and boldest culinary skills can win prizes. The Whole Foods Market of Cary Picnic of the Week contest returns for the fourth year. Throughout the summer, groups of concertgoers selected as the best picnickers of that weekend’s concert will receive a $100 gift basket from Whole Foods Market of Cary. Two honorable mentions in the form of $25 gift cards will also be awarded.
Select Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series concerts also feature other pre-concert activities, including instrument zoos for kids.
Tickets and Subscriptions:
General admission lawn seating to “At the Movies: A Night of Oscar-Winning Music and More” is $28 in advance, $30 at the door. Covered table seating is also available for $30 in advance, $32 at the door. Children 12 and under are admitted free for lawn seating at all Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series concerts. For more on becoming a series subscriber, visit the Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series page at www.ncsymphony.org/subscriptions.
This year’s series lineup also includes “Holst’s the Planets: An HD Odyssey,” featuring the North Carolina Master Chorale, June 29; the Symphony’s free “Independence Day” concert, July 4; and “Classic Celebrations: 1812 Overture,” featuring the Concert Singers of Cary, July 6.
For tickets, visit the North Carolina Symphony website at www.ncsymphony.org or call North Carolina Symphony Audience Services at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724.
KokaBooth Amphitheatre is located at 8003 Regency Parkway, just past the intersection of US-1 and US-64/Tryon Road, in Cary. Food and beverages, including wine and beer, are allowed on the grounds.
The series is presented by Rex Healthcare and co-sponsored by ABB, First Citizens Bank and the Town of Cary. Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series partners are Balentine and CaptiveAire. Media partners are the News & Observer, Fox 50, and Cary Magazine.
About the North Carolina Symphony
Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony performs over 175 concerts annually to adults and school children in more than 50 North Carolina counties. An entity of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, the orchestra employs 65 professional musicians, under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Grant Llewellyn and Resident Conductor William Henry Curry. Based in downtown Raleigh’s spectacular Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts and an outdoor summer venue at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C., the Symphony performs about 60 concerts annually in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary metropolitan area. It holds regular concert series in Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines and Wilmington—as well as individual concerts in many other North Carolina communities throughout the year—and conducts one of the most extensive education programs of any U.S. orchestra.
