PRESS RELEASE:
The Brevard College Fine Arts Division invites the community to witness the transforming power of the arts March 19-20. A Weekend of the Arts is a one-of-a-kind two-day event in The Porter Center for Performing Arts featuring the 6th annual Fine Arts Gala on Saturday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. followed by the UNC School of the Arts Symphony Orchestra concert Sunday, March 20 at 3:00 p.m. Purchase tickets to the Gala on Saturday by calling 828-884-8218. The concert on Sunday is free and open to the public.
“The Fine Arts Gala is a wonderful fundraising event that allows our students to have first-hand experience with production and event management outside of performances,” said Andrea Boccanfuso, assistant professor of theatre at BC. “The departments benefit greatly from this event, and it’s an opportunity for experiential education.”
Students and faculty will provide fast-paced entertainment, including Shakespearean scenes and monologues. Alongside theatre students, the music department will showcase the talents of Gavin Glover on the marimba. Throughout the evening, a gallery of student art work will be available for purchase, with sales benefitting BC fine arts students.
All proceeds from the Fine Arts Gala go directly to the BC Fine Arts Division. The funds raised, including ticket sales and donations, are used in conjunction with other Friends of Fine Arts (FOFA) donations to give students opportunities that would otherwise not be available.
“I am thrilled to be a part of the planning of this hugely important event in the life of the Fine Arts at Brevard College,” said Laurie McDowell, chair of the BC Division of Fine Arts. “So many people, both at the College and in the community, put a colossal effort into making the Gala a success. Such enthusiastic support of the Fine Arts is why we continue to thrive.
Some Fine Arts activities sponsored by FOFA since August 2015 include: sending students to conferences like the National Association for Teachers of Singing and the Southeastern Theatre Conference, sponsoring special musical guests like “Bent Frequency,” spearheading the Spiers Art Gallery renovations, and hosting clinicians from the University of Kentucky and Auburn University.
On Sunday, BC welcomes the UNC School of the Arts student-musicians to the Porter Center stage in an orchestra conducted by Christopher Lees, UNCSA Symphony Orchestra Director and featuring guest organist Sarah Kraaz. The concert will also feature Nathalie Schmalhofer, the winner of the UNCSA 2015 Concerto Competition, in a performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64. The program will conclude with Camille Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 (“Organ Symphony”).
The concert will highlight the Kirkpatrick-Coleman Pipe Organ, an imposing $1.2 million instrument designed by master organ-builder Daniel Jaeckel. It features three manual divisions, 69 ranks, and 3,539 pipes.
Kraaz is professor of music and chair of the music department at Ripon College in Wisconsin. She is no stranger to Brevard, having performed a full recital here in March of 2014. She holds a doctor of musical arts from the University of Kansas-Lawrence and teaches a variety of music history and literature courses at Ripon.
Free Admission to the concert is made possible by the underwriting of a generous benefactor.
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