FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News media contact
Joey Burdette
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The Winston-Salem Symphony Opens 2022–23 Season
with Classics Series Concert Mendelssohn’s Muse
Music Director Candidate Andrew Grams to Conduct with Guest Violinist Simone Porter
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (August 31, 2022) – The Winston-Salem Symphony is opening its 2022–23 season with a Classics Series concert cycle entitled “Mendelssohn’s Muse.” The concerts will feature guest conductor Andrew Grams, one of six candidates for the Symphony’s Music Director position. He will take the podium on Saturday, September 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, September 18 at 3 p.m. for a curated showcase of the Romantic Era’s most towering figures and beautiful masterpieces.
Grams is joined by emerging violinist Simone Porter, who makes her Winston-Salem debut with Felix Mendelssohn’s tender and fierce Violin Concerto. The concert opens with the first movement from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s picturesque and emotional Third Symphony, an ideal pairing with the majestic Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky. Inspired by a friend’s posthumous exhibit of artworks, Mussorgsky wrote a set of musical paintings for piano that was later arranged for orchestra by Maurice Ravel and will close this concert with the mighty “Great Gate of Kiev.”
“We are very excited to kick off our 2022-23 season as we conclude our 75th Anniversary celebrations and welcome six sensational conductors who are competing to become our next Music Director,” said E. Merritt Vale, Winston-Salem Symphony President & CEO. “Throughout this season, our audience members will play a vital part in helping us choose our next artistic leader. A little bit like ‘American Idolä meets the Winston-Salem Symphony,’ we are inviting the community to provide feedback about their experiences with the candidates in the concert hall and at a variety of public events. We encourage all music lovers to join us throughout the week leading up to every finalist’s concerts. We’re counting on your input!”
“Mendelssohn’s Muse” concerts will take place on Saturday, September 17 at 7:30 p.m. and September 18 at 3 p.m. at the Stevens Center of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, 405 West Fourth Street in downtown Winston-Salem. Tickets begin at $25 and are available by calling the Symphony Box Office at 336-464-0145 or online at wssymphony.org.
The public is invited to several opportunities to interact with Andrew Grams throughout the week leading up to the concert. There will be an open coffee and meet and greet on Thursday, September 15, from 10:30–11:30 a.m. at the Forsyth County Central Library Auditorium, 660 West Fifth Street. Symphony by the Glass returns to The Caviste, 1100 Reynolda Road, on Thursday, September 15, from 5:30–6:30 p.m. and provides an opportunity to hear from Grams while listening to Symphony musicians and enjoying wines paired with the music of Rachmaninoff, Mendelssohn, and Mussorgsky.
Another chance to meet the Music Director candidates is at the Symphony’s Music Lovers’ Luncheons. These fun and informative preconcert events feature the Music Director candidate and the guest artist and take place the Friday before each 2022–23 Classics Series concert from 12–1:30 p.m. Attendees have a chance to learn about the weekend’s programming while enjoying a gourmet lunch. The September 16 Music Lovers’ Luncheon will include an enlightening discussion with Andrew Grams and violinist Simone Porter. Music Lovers’ Luncheons are an opportunity to gain insights into the music presented and learn more about the performer’s careers and backgrounds. Music Lovers’ Luncheons are $35 per person, and advanced registration is required. Visit wssymphony.org/luncheon for more information and to make a reservation. The September 16 luncheon will take place at Footnote Coffee & Cocktails, located at 434 West Fourth Street, downtown beside Bookmarks.
After the Saturday concert, patrons are invited to walk across the street from the Stevens Center for a drink at The Ginger Fox. Andrew Grams and other orchestra musicians will be on hand to mix and mingle. As part of the fun to kick off the Winston-Salem Symphony’s season, The Ginger Fox has created a signature cocktail for Symphony patrons.
Andrew Grams became music director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra after an international search in 2013 and recently concluded his tenure there after eight seasons. His charismatic conducting and easy accessibility have made him a favorite of Elgin Symphony audiences. With a unique combination of intensity, enthusiasm, and technical clarity, Grams has steadily built a reputation for his dynamic concerts, ability to connect with audiences, and long-term orchestra building. Grams received a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from The Juilliard School and a conducting degree from the Curtis Institute of Music. For a full biography, visit andrewgrams.com.
Violinist Simone Porter has been recognized as an emerging artist of impassioned energy, interpretive integrity, and vibrant communication. In the past few years, she has debuted with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic alongside renowned conductors, including Stéphane Deneve, Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Nicholas McGegan, Ludovic Morlot, and Donald Runnicles. Born in 1996, Porter made her professional solo debut at age 10 with the Seattle Symphony and her international debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London at age 13. In March 2015, she was named a recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Raised in Seattle, Washington, Porter studied with Margaret Pressley as a recipient of the Dorothy Richard Starling Scholarship and was then admitted into the studio of the renowned pedagogue Robert Lipsett, with whom she studied at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. For a full biography, visit simoneporterviolin.com
This concert and the Winston-Salem Symphony are supported by Season Presenting Sponsors Bell, Davis & Pitt, P.A.; 2022 Classics Series Guest Artist Sponsors Salemtowne; Symphony Unbound/Etherbound Presenting Sponsors Chris and Mike Morykwas; 75th Anniversary Season Sponsor Betty Myers Howell; as well as the Arts Council of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County and the North Carolina Arts Council.
About the Winston-Salem Symphony
Proud to be one of the Southeast’s most highly regarded regional orchestras, the Winston-Salem Symphony will celebrate its 75th Anniversary across 2022. The Symphony inspires listeners of all ages throughout North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad with various concerts, education programs, and community engagement initiatives each year.
The Symphony is supported by Season Presenting Sponsors Bell, Davis & Pitt, P.A.; 2022 Classics Series Guest Artist Sponsors Salemtowne; Symphony Unbound/Etherbound Presenting Sponsors Chris and Mike Morykwas; 75th Anniversary Season Sponsor Betty Myers Howell; the Arts Council of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, the North Carolina Arts Council, and other dedicated sponsors. Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased online at wssymphony.org or by calling the Symphony Box Office at 336-464-0145.
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