Contact: Eva Mowry, Public Relations & Marketing
E: evam@charlottesymphony.org
P: 704-714-5114

For Immediate Release

Charlotte Symphony and Mint Museum Partner for October 21 KnightSounds Opening Performance
Collaboration part of the Romare Bearden Centennial Celebration

October 18, 2011- The Charlotte Symphony and the Mint Museum are partnering again in an artistic collaboration that unites the powers of visual art and music. This partnership comes to life this Friday, October 21, at the Charlotte Symphony’s KnightSounds season opener, a concert celebrating the life and work of Charlotte-born artist Romare Bearden. The Mint Museum’s uptown location, with an exhibit of Bearden’s work, will be open from 5:30-7:30 for concertgoers.

Program highlights include two iconic masterpieces of American music: Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, and Barber’s evocative Adagio for Strings.  During the concert, a number of Bearden’s images - choreographed to the selections being performed - will be projected on a screen above the orchestra on stage.  The musical works were chosen to amplify Bearden’s work and bring to life his musical influences.  Audience members will be able to view more of Bearden’s works before the concert at the Mint Museum’s exhibit, included in the price of the concert ticket.

“This is a wonderful example of the collaborative opportunities Charlotte’s cultural institutions have to further their respective missions.  We are honored to partner with the Charlotte Symphony in celebration of Bearden’s legacy through music and the visual arts,” said Nelia Van Goor, Director of Development and Membership at The Mint Museum.

“These institutional partnerships are vital to the future of the arts in Charlotte,” said Jonathan Martin, President and Executive Director of the Charlotte Symphony. “This event exemplifies the collaborative possibilities that now exist at the new Levine Center for the Arts campus, with its rich aggregation of institutions and venues.”

The museum exhibit, Romare Bearden: Southern Recollections, includes nearly 100 works of art that span the career of this internationally renowned artist. The exhibition underscores Bearden’s artistic mastery, particularly in the technique of collage and his development of narrative and thematic explorations of his native South. The exhibit includes collages, paintings, watercolors, and prints.

The KnightSounds series, launched last year in an effort to contemporize the Symphony setting, received a hugely successful reception from audiences. The concerts are approximately one hour in length, have an earlier start time of 7:30, and include a drink, hors d’oeuvre and activity in the cost of admission. Innovative multimedia is frequently used to complement the musical programming.  A special funding announcement for this year’s KnightSounds series will be made onstage at the beginning of the concert.
 
This year’s lineup of KnightSounds programs include Carmina Burana with the Oratorio Singers, an all-Tchaikovsky program as part of the upcoming festival through the North Carolina Dance Theatre, Opera Carolina and the Charlotte Symphony and Joie de Vivre- A Night in Paris, with the premier of a work by digital artist Matthew Weinstein.

Concert program listed below:

Bearden 100—Celebrating the Man through Music
Friday, October 21, 2011 7:30pm
Jacomo Rafael Bairos, conducting
COPLAND                    Fanfare for the Common Man
MASON BATES            Rusty Air in Carolina
ELLINGTON                 The Essential Ellington
BARBER                       Adagio for Strings
BERNSTEIN                  On the Town

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