36th season announced for Symphony of Rutherford County

Associate Director Matt Guffey and Symphony Director Patricia Sparti.

The Symphony of Rutherford County announces its 36th season of "serving the community through music and music education." Under the direction of Music Director/Conductor, Dr. Patricia Sparti of Gardner-Webb University, and Associate Conductor, Matthew Guffey, band director for East Rutherford Middle School, this duo is more than excited about the upcoming concerts.

For both of them, this is their 11th year in these roles. Each brings to the orchestra a unique set of talents and interests, which, when combined, has challenged the members to be more than they ever imagined they could be. Under the leadership of Dr. Sparti, and with the assistance of Guffey, the group's repertoire has matured and diversified.

In her own words, Dr. Sparti describes the upcoming season: "Our first public concert of the new season will be our Christmas/Holiday show (scheduled for Friday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the Foundation.) It will feature lots of great Christmas and holiday music from around the world, both sacred and secular, and will end with several selections from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra performed by our very own orchestra and symphony rock band--a practice that is becoming something of a tradition for us. Crest High School Orchestra will once again perform side-by-side with us for this concert.

The Spring Concert, scheduled for Sunday, April 28 at 3 p.m. and will feature "The Prayer" as sung by Celine Dion and Andrea Boccelli with the orchestra accompanying opera stars from Theatre Raleigh. In other selections, Matt Guffey will be the featured soloist on the Mozart Clarinet Concerto. The program will also include works by Bruch Borodin, Saint-Seans, Sibelius, and Shubert, as well as some orchestra pops, with a salute to the big bands, music from "Les Miserables," and others.

In addition to the great music mentioned above, Guffey has proposed an additional feature, which he will introduce this season--pre-concert chats. He describes this as follows: These chats will take place approximately 30 minutes prior to each concert in a designated place within the Foundation for those who wish to enhance the concert experience and their knowledge of the music that will be performed. Chats are designed to educate patrons on the background of the music and why we have programmed certain works. We feel that this new addition will be a wonderful way to share and interact with our patrons. It will also enable us to focus more on the "music education" component of our mission.

Both of these concerts will be performed at the Foundation Performing Arts Center on the Campus of Isothermal Community College. Tickets for the Christmas Performance are already on sale at the Foundation Box Office or on line at Foundationshows.org. Ticket cost is $15 for adults with those 18 and under admitted free. For more information, visit rcsymphony.org.

The Symphony of Rutherford County is a 501-c-3 (non-profit) organization supported largely through individual contributions and grants, including grants from the NC Arts Council. Visit their secure website to make your own tax-deductible contribution.