One of Beethoven’s most popular symphonies will headline the program when the Asheville Symphony Orchestra takes the stage November 17 for the third concert in its Masterworks series.
Music Director Daniel Meyer will conduct the Asheville Symphony Orchestra as it performs Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 for the second half of the concert. The first half includes Bach’s Suite in B Minor, which will feature one of the orchestra’s own members, Bartok’s Divertimento.
The concert starts at 8 p.m. at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in the U.S. Cellular Center. Meyer will give a preconcert lecture at 7 p.m. The lecture is free to ticketholders.
Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony is one of the most performed and popular works in the classical canon. It is also one of the most influential – Richard Wagner called the work the “apotheosis of the dance” because of its infectious, unyielding use of rhythm as a driving force
Lissie Okopny, the Asheville Symphony’s principal flutist, will highlight the Bach work, which is considered one of the most recognizable works for flute.
Okopny, who is a faculty member at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C., is a member of the Western Piedmont Symphony in Hickory. She maintains an active performance schedule as soloist and chamber musician as well as a teaching studio in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Okopny received her master’s degree in music from The Juilliard School in 2008 and her bachelor’s of music in 2006 from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She made her professional solo debut with the Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony (Michigan) in 2004, performing the Ibert Flute Concerto.
Her other awards and honors include first prize in the 2003 Detroit Bohemian Concerto Competition and third prize in the 2011 Myrna Brown Artist Competition. She was awarded scholarships from The Juilliard School, Indiana University, the National Repertory Orchestra in 2007, and the Sarasota Music Festival in 2005. Her teachers include world-renowned flutists Carol Wincenc, Thomas Robertello, Ervin Monroe, and Jeffery Zook.
Bartok’s Divertimento, which highlights the string section, is an homage to the Hungarian musical heritage.
If You Go: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, performed by the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, November 17 at 8 p.m. in the U.S. Cellular Center’s Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.
Tickets are available at the U.S. Cellular Center box office, and range in price from $20 to $58. Subscriptions are also available at pro-rated prices, or on a “pick three” basis for $55 to $169. Significant discounts for students are available. For details, call (828) 254-7046, or visit www.ashevillesymphony.org.
