North Carolina Symphony Wows Jacksonville Audiences Twice Each Year
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It may be a long-distance relationship, but the love affair between Onslow County and the nation’s first state-sponsored orchestra goes back more than six decades – evidence of the bond between the community and the North Carolina Symphony.
Twice a year, audiences in Onslow County are wowed by stunning performances by the visiting orchestra, led by resident conductor William Henry Curry. In addition, the North Carolina Symphony comes back to Jacksonville to play a special concert for schoolchildren.
A strong core group of local supporters keeps the orchestra coming back again and again, says Rob Maddrey, director of community development for the North Carolina Symphony.
“Without them, we really couldn’t be there as frequently as we are,” Maddrey says.
Much of that support comes from the Onslow Chapter of the North Carolina Symphony and Jacksonville’s Council for the Arts.
The symphony plays an annual holiday pops concert in Jacksonville in December that features classic songs of the season. In the past, part of the program has included an audience sing-along of Christmas carols with the orchestra.
The traveling orchestra comes back each June for its annual free concert at the downtown Riverwalk Crossing Park.
The North Carolina Symphony has been performing in Onslow County since the 1940s, Maddrey says.
The North Carolina Symphony is a 68-member full-time orchestra. The symphony’s home is in Raleigh, but it performs in 30 out of 100 North Carolina counties.
Led by Music Director Grant Llewellyn, it’s known as “America’s next great orchestra.”
Story by Sheila Burke
Photo by Michael Zirkle
