Saturday, April 16, 2011

William Henry Curry Conducts North Carolina Symphony in 'Blues in the Night' May 6-7

[William Henry Curry]

NCSymphony.org
Posted: April 14, 2011
Bluesmen Corey Harris and Phil Wiggins, sopranos Tina Morris-Anderson and Rozlyn Sorrell and other special guests take center stage with the North Carolina Symphony next month for a fast-paced journey through the history of American blues and jazz. Led by Resident Conductor William Henry Curry, 'Blues in the Night' takes place at Meymandi Concert Hall, in downtown Raleigh’s Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, on Friday and Saturday, May 6-7, at 8:00 p.m.”

“Together they will bridge the gap in an evening of diverse, homegrown sounds. Concertgoers will travel the exciting history of a distinctly American art form, from classic tunes by pioneering American composers George Gershwin, W.C. Handy, Scott Joplin and Morton Gould to gospel numbers including 'Precious Lord, Take My Hand'—songs that were inspirations not only for their content but for their musical vitality—to the work of blues and jazz legends like Duke Ellington.

“'One of the great gifts that America has given the world has been its music,' says Curry about this unique concert lineup. 'The mix of European art music and American folk music infused symphonic works with ragtime, jazz and the blues, so-called third stream music. The popularity of this genre makes it, to me, the American orchestral music most likely to endure the test of time, by reflecting the diversity of the American experience.' Curry will be aided in this musical tour-de-force by the stellar talents of several of the North Carolina Symphony’s favorite collaborators, including sopranos Tina Morris-Anderson and Rozlyn Sorrell and North Carolina Central University Director of Jazz Studies Ira Wiggins, on saxophone.” [Scott Joplin and Duke Ellington are profiled at AfriClassical.com]

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