Music for the People
The Blue Ridge Orchestra's Gala 10th Season
Spring Masterworks Concert
A Celebration of Spring and the Earth
Sunday • March 21, 2010 • 3:00pm • Diana Wortham Theatre
The Four Seasons: Spring................................................................. Vivaldi
Listen... the Earth is Weeping...................................................... Clearfield
Fantasy for solo violin and orchestra
Amy Lovinger, Violinist
Symphony #6 (The Pastoral)....................................................... Beethoven
The Blue Ridge Orchestra celebrates their 10th Anniversary with a Spring Masterworks concert on Sunday, March 21, 3:00 PM at Diana Wortham Theatre. Featured soloist will be violinist Amy Lovinger, performing in Vivaldi’s Concerto for Violin and Strings, “Spring” from “The Seasons.” Amy will also be performing in a new composition written by the orchestra’s conductor Ron Clearfield. The piece is called “Listen……The Earth is Weeping” and is a fantasy for solo violin and orchestra. To round out the program there will be a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony #6, “The Pastoral.” The Vivaldi and Beethoven are quintessential spring and nature celebrations; sublime music that paints vivid aural images of the beauty and changeable quality of the seasons and natural world. Ron Clearfield’s premiered composition features violin accompanied by orchestra. It contains a message about the challenged condition of our planet and an encouragement for all of us to make our efforts to start reversing the deteriorating state of our home.
The soloist, Amy Lovinger, is native of Suffern, NY, and holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music as well as Master’s degree from Kent State University. After graduating in 2004, she lived in Portugal for a year and enjoyed playing with the Orquestra Classica da Madeira. She now resides in Asheville. Amy is a member of the Opal String Quartet, which was formed in 2006. She is also the principal second violinist of the Asheville Symphony and associate concertmaster of the Hendersonville Symphony. Amy freelances with many other orchestras in the area and plays in the award winning gypsy folk rock band, Sirius.B. Cellist, composer and conductor, Ron Clearfield, conducts the Blue Ridge Orchestra. He graduated with honors from the New England Conservatory of Music and studied cello and conducting with cellist Aldo Parisot and string pedagogues and conductors Joseph Silverstein and Leon Barzan. Ron was previously a member of the Indianapolis Symphony and the Miami Philharmonic. He has performed with such pop notables as George Benson, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt and Dionne Warwick as well as with classical luminaries Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and Seiji Ozawa. Ron has released three critically acclaimed albums of his music and has scored for numerous television and film projects. The 10th anniversary season of the Blue Ridge Orchestra illustrates the group’s signature blend of classical, popular and progressive-fusion music. Performing in venues from UNCA’s Lipinsky (for November’s presentations of Peter and the Wolf to over a thousand children) to the Folk Art Center for their Holiday Concert, the orchestra continues to broaden its reach to wider and wider audiences. Closing the season will be an exciting collaboration with local singer/songwriter/percussionist, Billy Jonas on Friday, April 30, 8:00 pm at Diana Wortham Theatre. Tickets for March’s concert are $15.00 for adults, $10.00 for students & groups of five or more, $5.00 for children 6-12 and free for children 5 and under. Tickets are available at Diana Wortham Box Office, 257-4530 or online: www.dwtheatre.com For further information on opportunities to see a concert or audition or volunteer for the orchestra, visit http://www.blueridgeorchestra.org or call 828-650-0948.
