The Charlotte Symphony presents its 11th annual concert celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Daybreak of Freedom concert is the culmination of the Symphony’s week-long recognition of King’s mission to transform democracy “from thin paper to thick action.”

Entitled Bridging Musical Worlds, a collection of four events celebrate African American music in its many forms, demonstrating the capacity of music to uplift and empower the human spirit.

Bridging Musical Worlds
These community programs are all free and open to the public.

Sun Jan 11 @ 7:30 p.m. Jazz as Democracy. Charlotte Symphony musicians will join the jazz septet Going Through Changes for a performance at the historic Excelsior Club, 921 Beatties Ford Road

Tue Jan 13 @ 7 p.m. Blues and Bearden. Through performance, readings, and discussion, this event at the Mint Museum explores the blues, the art of Romare Bearden, and the struggle for justice, dignity, and freedom in African American expression. Featuring Charlotte blues singer Robin Rogers. Mint Museum of Art, 2730 Randolph Road

Sat Jan 17@ 4 p.m. Go Tell it on the Mountain. This program at Little Rock AME Zion Church presents gospel music in different styles, along with discussions of the role of the church in the Civil Rights Movement. In partnership with the Afro-American Cultural Center.
Little Rock AME Zion Church, 401 North McDowell Street

Sun Jan 18 @ 3 p.m. We Shall Overcome. At the Levine Museum of the New South, storyteller and musician Kali Ferguson explores the role of protest music in the Civil Rights Era, while Charlotte Symphony musicians perform “classical” music that protests injustice and human bondage. Followed by a panel discussion led by historian Tom Hanchett and civil rights attorney James Ferguson.
Levine Museum of the New South, 200 E. Seventh St.

For information on more events celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., please visit www.charlottevibe.com/mlk

BB&T “BLUE SKIES AND GOLDEN SANDS: CAROLINA BEACH MUSIC AND SHAGGING”
Tue May 19 • 8 pm
The Charlotte Symphony welcomes the North Carolina Symphony and Legends of Beach
Grant Llewellyn, conducting
Ovens Auditorium

The North Carolina Symphony takes a musical journey along the coast of the Carolinas. The program features music of coastal Native Americans and a representation of the Gullah tradition from the Sea Islands. Much of the second half of the concert celebrates beach music, with performances by original members of the legendary band, The Embers, and a group of shag dancers. N.C. Symphony Music Director Grant Llewellyn conducts this unique concert presented by the Charlotte Symphony.

Jane Monheit
Fri Oct 10 • 8 pm
Halton Theater, CPCC

LISTEN

The jazz chanteuse returns to the Charlotte Symphony for a sensual evening of song. Pulling from a vast repertoire of traditional and contemporary standards, Monheit will perform favorites such as Henry Mancini’s “Moon River,” Johnny Mandel’s “A Time for Love,” and Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed.”

Warhol on the Waterfront
Fri Nov 14 • 8 pm
Halton Theater, CPCC
Sat Nov 15 • 8 pm
Duke Family Performance Hall, Davidson College 

Alan Yamamoto, conducting
Calin Lupanu, violin

Philip GLASS   Symphony No. 3 for String
                     Orchestra     
RAVEL            Tzigane
BERNSTEIN     On the Waterfront: Symphony Suite

PROGRAM NOTES

Join Resident Conductor Alan Yamamoto and the Symphony for a fascinating multi-media production! Sight and sound come together as iconic images by Andy Warhol are married to Philip Glass’s minimalist masterpiece. Leonard Bernstein’s suite from his sweeping score to the Marlon Brando movie, On the Waterfront, comes to life on screen, with montages from this 1954 film classic. In the midst of the modernism, the Symphony’s own concertmaster, Calin Lupanu, injects an exotic gypsy swagger, with Ravel’s virtuosic violin showpiece.

Messiah
Wed Dec 17 • 7:30 pm
Scott Allen Jarrett, conducting
Oratorio Singers of Charlotte
Belk Theater

First performed in 1742, originally as a musical celebration of Easter, Handel’s Messiah, with its stirring solos and choruses, has become a Christmas tradition. This concert by the Oratorio Singers, excellent soloists, and the Symphony is Charlotte’s only full performance of this magnificent oratorio.