North Carolina’s Symphony Summerfest
The state’s premier symphony takes to the stage (or stages) in its 85th Anniversary Season at both its venues, the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary and the Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh. The North Carolina Symphony has an outstanding reputation as one of the most sophisticated and honored orchestras in the country. Starting this May, the North Carolina Symphony hosts its Summerfest at Koka Booth Amphitheater, an annual series of concerts in a casual, outdoor setting. Bring your blanket, pack a picnic, and enjoy the show with a picturesque view of Symphony Lake.
Summerfest weekends are May 27th through July 16th and feature the Grammy-winning Steep Canyon Rangers, A Space Spectacular, Beethoven, Broadway, the music of U2, and more. Opening Night is Memorial Day weekend on May 27th at 7:30PM highlighting the epic New World Symphony by Antonin Dvorak, a definition that served as the essence of American music. It was inspired by Native and African American traditional folk music as well as the Great Plains, all things that Dvorak was determined to study so he could gain insight into what truly was America’s unique musical style. When it premiered in 1893, Dvorak’s multinational masterpiece was met with thunderous applause, becoming one of the most popular and honored symphonies of all time as well as the first music played on the Moon (Neil Armstrong brought a recording of it on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969).
The North Carolina Symphony will also be performing Beethoven & Brahms for the Chapel Hill concert series on Thursday, May 11th, 2017 at 7:30PM. The venue location is Memorial Hall, UNC-Chapel Hill. To purchase tickets visit the Symphony website. Find more information and a full list of the Summerfest concerts at http://ncsymphony.org/summerfest.
