Western Piedmont Symphony Celebrates 60th Anniversary With John Williams' Iconic Film Scores

Western Piedmont Symphony will open its 2024 - 2025 season with a red carpet "season premiere" concert event on Friday, September 13, with FOOTHILLS POPS: THE MUSIC OF . The regional professional orchestra celebrates 60 years of music in the foothills of western North Carolina with more than seventeen concerts featuring music from across the centuries, from Bach to Beethoven, Stravinsky to Ravel, Gershwin to Ellington, and more.

This season, celebrating our 60th Anniversary, is full of timeless classics and innovative new works. As an ensemble, it is a year where the repertoire reflects our artistic journey and growth into an orchestra that is the crown jewel of the arts in our region," noted WPS music director and conductor Matthew Troy. "I hope members of our community will come and take part in these exceptional, uplifting, and yes, FUN concert experiences that we have to offer!" added Troy.

The red carpet season opener, FOOTHILLS POPS: THE MUSIC OF , features the memorable film music of our lives. Walk the red carpet in your favorite superhero or Jedi master costumes and get your light sabers ready for a night of the most famous and beloved film scores of , including Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Superman, Harry Potter, and more!

Western Piedmont Symphony FOOTHILLS POPS concert series is sponsored by Broyhill Family Foundation and the Bernhardt Furniture Foundation, with generous support from Arts Culture Catawba and the North Carolina Arts Council. Additional sponsorship for THE MUSIC OF is provided by the Western Piedmont Symphony Past Presidents Club.

FOOTHILLS POPS tickets are $30, $40, $50 for adults, and $10 for students with valid ID. To purchase tickets, visit wpsymphony.org, call 828.324.8603, or visit the WPS Box Office, located on the SALT Block at 243 Third Avenue NE, Hickory, NC, 28601. Box Office hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wed. - Fri. J.E. Broyhill Civic Center is located at 1913 Hickory Blvd, Lenoir, NC 28645 (on Highway 321). Please note: All programs, artists, venues, prices, and dates are subject to change.

2024-2025 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

 

Friday, September 13, 2024 - Foothills Pops: The Music of

Get your light sabers ready for a night of the most famous and beloved film scores of , including Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Superman, Harry Potter, and more!

7:30 p.m., J.E. Broyhill Civic Center, Lenoir

Thursday, September 19, 2024 - Side/Show

An evening of FREE, unique performances with WPS Musicians and Friends spanning many musical genres including jazz, classical, and Americana. Presented in partnership with the City of Hickory and the Downtown Hickory Art Crawl.

5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., Downtown Hickory

Saturday, October 12, 2024 - Masterworks: Rhapsody in Blue

Featured artist Jeffrey Beigel, piano

Celebrating the centennial of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, pianist Jeffrey Biegel and composer Peter Boyer launched the Rhapsody National Initiative with Rhapsody in Red, White, & Blue, a vibrant new work reflecting the American landscape, with the pulse, energy, and beauty of our shared identity as Americans. Western Piedmont Symphony is the only orchestra in North Carolina represented in this national symphonic project. Also on the program is the celebrated masterpiece Rhapsody in Blue, the lyrical and vivid Symphony No. 1 by living composer Adolphus Hailstork, and the mesmerizing Bolero by Ravel.

7:30 p.m., P.E. Monroe Auditorium, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory

Thursday, October 24, 2024 - Crossroads Concert: Martha Bassett's Quinteto Brasil

North Carolina singer/songwriter Martha Bassett and her Quinteto Brasil present a night of bossa nova standards and new arrangements such as Desafinado, Meditation, One Note Samba, and more.

7:30 p.m., Drendel Auditorium, the SALT Block, Hickory

Saturday, November 9, 2024 - Masterworks: Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

Featured artists Misha Keylin, violin; and Samuel Magill, cello

The first four notes say it all: Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Also on the program of "The Three Bs" is a Baroque power play of three on three, Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, and the doubly demanding Brahms Concerto for Violin and Cello featuring Misha Keylin, violin, and WPS principal cellist Samuel Magill.

7:30 p.m., P.E. Monroe Auditorium, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory

Sunday, November 10, 2024 - Discovery Family Concert: Robots, Machines, and Music

Discover musical adventures of live symphonic music and explore where music and science meet in a concert of fun and familiar music and songs. Activities begin at 2:00 p.m., the music begins at 3:00 p.m. Presented in partnership with Catawba Science Center and Artificial Intelligence: Your Mind and the Machine.

2:00 p.m. pre-concert activities and 3:00 p.m. concert, P.E. Monroe Auditorium, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory

Saturday, November 16, 2024 - Crossroads Concert: Viola Celebration

Piano and violas come together in a lush program highlighting the dark, rich voice of the viola! Works Brahms, Bridge, and more. Scott Rawls, viola; Kimberly Sparr, viola; Jim Douglass, piano

7:30 p.m., Drendel Auditorium, the SALT Block, Hickory

Saturday, December 7, 2024 - Foothills Pops: Holiday Spectacular

Everyone's favorite seasonal concert is back for an evening of holiday and winter music classics. The region's best way to start December and get some holiday cheer! Matt Sickels, guitar, will electrify with Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas songs. Additional guest artists to be announced.

7:30 p.m., J.E. Broyhill Civic Center, Lenoir

Thursday, January 16, 2025 - Crossroads Concert. Valves and Keys Trio

North Carolina artists David Dash, trumpet; Maria Serkin, horn; and Alison Gagnon, piano, perform poetic works by female composers Dorothy Gates, Whitney George, Cecilia McDowall, and Amy Beach.

7:30 p.m., Drendel Auditorium, the SALT Block, Hickory

Saturday, January 25, 2025 - Masterworks: The Rite of Spring

WPS celebrates its orchestral artistic breadth and depth with the sensational Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Stravinsky's musical choreographic work celebrating of the return of spring and the renewal of the earth in primal rhythms and rituals of dance. Also on the program is Debussy's Syrinx for solo flute, the unforgettable film music from Psycho by B. Herrmann, and the musical fantasia Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky.

7:30 p.m., P.E. Monroe Auditorium, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory

Saturday February 22, 2025 - Masterworks: Symphony Swings

Featured artist Doreen Ketchens, clarinet

A night of classic American jazz music featuring one of the greatest clarinetists alive, known as the Louis Armstrong of the clarinet, Doreen Ketchens, performing jazz swing music with the Western Piedmont Symphony. Also on the program is Soul Force by award-winning composer Jessie Montgomery, Three Dance Episodes from On the Town by Bernstein, and the musical mural of African-American history told through music, Ellington's Black, Brown, and Beige Suite.

7:30 p.m., P.E. Monroe Auditorium, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory

Thursday, March 27, 2025 - Crossroads Concert: Gamelan, a Balinese Percussion Orchestra

More than twenty musicians and southeastern Asian instruments take the stage for an evening that will mesmerize and enchant. Featuring musicians from Sekaa Gong Mandala Giri from Appalachian State University and Gamelan Giri Murti from Wake Forest University.

7:30 p.m., Drendel Auditorium, the SALT Block, Hickory

Saturday, April 26, 2025 - Foothills Pops: What's Goin' On: Music of Disco and Motown

Get ready to groove tonight! Western Piedmont Symphony and the Jeans 'N Classics Band returns to perform the timeless pop hits of the Disco and Motown eras, from the 1970s to now. 7:30 p.m., J.E. Broyhill Civic Center, Lenoir

Saturday, May 17, 2025 - Masterworks: Mozart and the Mandolin

Featured artist Jeff Midkiff, mandolin

The symphony's flagship classical series concludes with the sounds of spring and joy in the exciting mandolin concerto, From the Blue Ridge, performed by composer and Bluegrass mandolin player Jeff Midkiff. The concert opens with the lighthearted Overture to La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) by Rossini and Mozart's popular and joyous "Jupiter" Symphony.

7:30 p.m., P.E. Monroe Auditorium, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory

And more ... free masterclasses, education concerts, and community outreach performances and conversations in Hickory and throughout the greater Catawba Valley. For more information about the Western Piedmont Symphony 2024-2025 season of concerts and events, visit wpsymphony.org.

Please note: all programs, artists, venues, prices, and dates are subject to change.

SERIES SUBSCRIPTION AND TICKET INFORMATION

Series subscription packages and single tickets on sale now. Series subscriptions offer up to 15% off the single ticket price and a reservation on your favorite seats. Flex-6 and Flex-10 packages also available.

Single ticket pricing:

Masterworks: $20, $30, $40, $50; students with valid ID $10.

Foothills Pops: $30, $40, $50; students with valid ID $10.

Crossroads: $28; students with valid ID $10.

Discovery: $5 youth under age 12; $10 students with valid ID; $14 adult. (Note: no series subscription for Discovery Family Concerts)

Side/Show and community outreach performances are free.

The WPS Box Office is located on the SALT Block at 243 Third Avenue NE, Hickory, NC 28601. Box Office hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Wed. - Fri. For more information about Western Piedmont Symphony, call 828-324-8603, visit wpsymphony.org, email info@wpsymphony.org.

About Western Piedmont Symphony:

Western Piedmont Symphony (WPS) is the professional orchestra of the western foothills of North Carolina, based in Hickory. For 60 years, WPS has enriched and engaged the communities of western North Carolina through high-quality symphonic music with creative, relevant performances, and educational opportunities for all ages. Each season, the Symphony presents an inspiring classical Masterworks series, a fun and entertaining Foothills Pops series, a variety of small music ensembles in the Crossroads series, family-friendly Discovery Family Concerts, plus education and community engagement programs in the Catawba Valley, all under the artistic direction of Maestro Matthew Troy. Western Piedmont Symphony is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council and is a funded affiliate of the Arts Culture Catawba. Business offices are located on the SALT Block at 243 Third Avenue NE, Hickory. Box Office hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Wed. - Fri. For more information about Western Piedmont Symphony, call 828-324-8603, visit wpsymphony.org, or email info@wpsymphony.org. Follow Western Piedmont Symphony on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or X.

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