N.C. Symphony Kicks Off 2014-15 Today Favorites Series with AT THE OSCARS Tonight

The North Carolina Symphony will perform "At the Oscars" tonight, Oct. 17, at noon in Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh in the opening concert of its popular "Friday Favorites" lunchtime series. Music in the movies has been around since the days of the silent pictures, and the program for "At the Oscars," led by Resident Conductor William Henry Curry, features some of the greatest music ever scored for Oscar-winning films.

The program includes Strauss' Fanfare from Also sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001), Bernstein's Overture to West Side Story, Goldsmith's The New Enterprise from Star Trek, the Motion Picture, and Yoda's Theme from the Star Wars Suite, and Adventures on Earth from E.T., both from the prolific pen of John Williams. The composer has received nearly 50 Academy Award nominations and is the creative force behind some of cinema's most mesmerizing musical themes.

The concert is the first in the Symphony's six-concert 2014/15 Friday Favorites series in Raleigh. Subscriptions to the North Carolina Symphony's 2014/15 Friday Favorites series for all six concerts, or for three-concert series, are available at www.ncsymphony.org/subscriptions.

Other dates on the Friday Favorites series:

Symphony Music Director Grant Llewellyn will conduct Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 on Friday, Nov. 14, at noon. The concert will also feature Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin, as well as Benjamin Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Op. 31, with tenor Nicholas Phan and Symphony Principal Horn Rebekah Daley.

Resident Conductor William Henry Curry will conduct an All Tchaikovsky program on Friday, Jan. 30, 2015, at noon, including Cossack Dance from Mazeppa, the Symphony No. 4, and a world premiere orchestration of the Military March in B-flat Major.

On Friday, Feb. 27, 2015, at noon, Grant Llewellyn will conduct Beethoven's magnificent Symphony No. 7. The program also includes Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture.

On Friday, April 10, 2015, at noon, Michael Francis will lead the North Carolina Symphony in Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique, along with Vieuxtemps' Violin Concerto No. 5, featuring North Carolina Symphony Concertmaster Brian Reagin.

The season finale for the Friday Favorites series will take place on Friday, May 1, 2015, at noon with Grant Llewellyn and the Symphony performing Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring.

Tickets to the Friday Favorites performance on Oct. 17 at noon are $28. Student tickets are $10. Concert tickets at all performances are also available at the door one hour prior to concert start time. To purchase tickets, visit the North Carolina Symphony website at www.ncsymphony.org or call the Symphony Box Office at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724.

In addition to stellar performances, North Carolina Symphony concertgoers can enjoy pre-concert talks, post-concert discussions, and "Meet the Artists," which feature interactive conversations with guest artists and select orchestra members, at many Symphony events. On Friday, Oct. 17, at 11 a.m., Dr. Jonathan Kramer, of N.C. State University, will give a talk in Swalin Lobby of Meymandi Concert Hall.

Partners for the 2014/15 Friday Favorites series include Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, The Cypress of Raleigh, and SearStone.

Meymandi Concert Hall is located in the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., in Raleigh.

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