Memorial Hall will be home to several American symphonic orchestras in the Carolina Performing Arts’ 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons thanks to a $600,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
“There’s an opportunity to show the incredible talents of American orchestras from all around this country,” said Emil Kang, UNC’s executive director for the arts.
“Because we have this grant we have this chance to showcase certain styles of music from a certain period, and also new music of American composers, which is a very rare opportunity for us.”
Tonu Kalam, conductor of the UNC Symphony Orchestra, said he is excited by the prospect of world-class American orchestras performing in Chapel Hill.
“We don’t often get the chance to hear a high-caliber orchestral performance,” Kalam said. “There’s just no substitute for the live sound of a great orchestra.”
Though not covered by the foundation’s grant, the various orchestral performances will be accompanied by an academic conference titled “Music and the Line of Most Resistance: Rethinking Aesthetic Complexity.”
This conference will be co-hosted by the UNC Music Department and the Akademie der Kunste in Berlin.
The educational impact of an orchestral concert often extends beyond the walls of Memorial Hall.
“It’s not just performances. We get master classes and all kinds of things,” Kalam said. “The musicians will often work with our students in studio classes or any number of settings.”
