Sad news from Asheville’s oldest nonprofit:
“Asheville Bravo Concerts, the area’s first nonprofit arts organization, announces that this season will be its last. After eight decades of bringing the finest cultural and artistic performances to Western North Carolina, the organization will conclude programming due to the rising costs of producing high-caliber performances in this economic climate. The Asheville Bravo Concerts staff and board of directors invite the community to join them in celebration of the life of this historical institution with the 80th Anniversary Gala & Closing Celebration on Sunday, April 22, featuring an intimate concert by the string trio, Time for Three.
‘Asheville Bravo Concerts has had the pleasure of serving this community for the last 80 years. Its legacy will live on through the continued success of our fellow local performing arts organizations,’ said Bravo’s Executive Director, Tracey Johnston-Crum. ‘The history of Asheville Bravo Concerts, formerly known as Asheville Community Concerts Association, has been both long and glorious. And in this, our 80th Anniversary season, our Board of Directors feels that it is the proper time to tip our hat and take a bow. Our remaining assets and endowment funds will be redirected to other area performing arts groups in order that Bravo may continue to serve this community through the work of other like-minded organizations.’ Recipients of these funds will be acknowledged publicly as Bravo closes effective April 30, 2012.
Since 1932, Bravo has brought world-class musicians and performing artists to Asheville including the Vienna Boys Choir, the Cleveland Orchestra, Marilyn Horne, Leontyne Price, Van Cliburn, American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey, and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. ‘Most recently, the opportunity to bring both the world-renowned Soweto Gospel Choir and violin virtuoso Joshua Bell to our community was truly an honor for the organization,’ offers Johnston-Crum.
The final Bravo season will close with a performance of Giselle by The Moscow Festival Ballet on Friday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium — followed by the 80th Anniversary Gala & Closing Celebration on Sunday, April 22 from 6-9 p.m. at the Biltmore Forest Country Club. Tickets for both events are still available for purchase.
The 80th Anniversary Gala & Closing Celebration will feature an intimate concert by the string trio, Time for Three, showcased on the main stage in Bravo’s 2010-2011 performance series, as well as cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres. Only 200 tickets to the event will be sold at $100 each. Time for Three is a talented group of three musicians on a mission to transform, reinvigorate, and grow the Classical audience. Their respect for the classical repertoire technique is matched by the youthful curiosity with which they bend rules and integrate many different styles. Adding elements of blues, bluegrass and jazz, these young musicians form a blend all their own, carrying a passion for improvisation, composing and arranging.
Tickets for the April 22 80th Anniversary Gala and Closing Celebration are available by calling the Asheville Bravo Concerts’ office at 225-5887 and tickets for the March 9th performance of Giselle are available at the box office of the U.S. Cellular Center and at http://www.ticketmaster.com.
Time passes.
It just goes to show what can happen in a generation. When I first came to Asheville in 1983, there was a waiting list to get into what was then the Community Concert Series. The only classical music competition was the Asheville Symphony which was nowhere near what it is today and the Asheville Chamber Music Series which had a small but devoted following. There were also occasional visits from the NC Symphony but that was it.
30 years later the ASO has become a first class orchestra and the Chamber Music Series has become a staple at the Unitarian-Universalist Church. The NC Symphony’s schedule has been cut back and performances in different venues all over town have increased dramatically. Folkmoot provides international entertainment and the audience demographic has changed. The downturn in the economy didn’t help either. These factors have finally caught up with Asheville Bravo Concerts.
Thank you for 80 years of enriching the community.