The North Carolina Symphony (NCS) returns to Tryon Palace to perform a FREE concert on the South Lawn on Thursday, June 23, 2022, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Symphony’s program features a special Juneteenth Freedom Celebration with special comments given by Sharon Bryant, Tryon Palace African American Outreach Coordinator. Tryon Palace is delighted be chosen again as a host venue for this North Carolina Symphony performance, that brings such a wonderful opportunity to our community.
The evening’s program will also feature a new commission from NCS Composer in Residence, Dr. Anthony Kelley, entitled Spirituals of Liberation that premiered on June 18th at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary.
The North Carolina Symphony Juneteenth program celebrates the many facets of American musical culture that have been created and influenced by African Americans; from the spirituals of enslaved Africans to Ragtime, Jazz, and Classical Music, all while telling the story of liberation. In addition to Kelley’s work, the program includes pieces by William Grant Still and Florence Price and arrangements that celebrate the contributions of jazz greats Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Guest soloists will join the orchestra to perform the spiritual “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
The Juneteenth Freedom Celebration is presented in partnership with the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission and is supported by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Triangle Community Foundation. The NCS Summerfest series is presented by UNC Health and sponsored by First Citizens Bank.
The performance at Tryon Palace on the 23rd, begins at 7:30 p.m. Tryon Palace’s gates will open at 5:30 p.m. and attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs. Coolers and picnic baskets are allowed. NO pets, anything needing to be staked into the lawn, glass bottles and containers, tobacco products, smoking, e-cigs, or weapons are permitted.
Following the performance at Tryon Palace in New Bern, sponsored by CarolinaEast Health System, the NCS will perform at the Town Common in Tarboro on June 24, sponsored by Anonymous Trust/Simple Gifts Fund. A selection from Kelley’s Spirituals of Liberation will be part of the NCS’s Education Program repertoire for the 2022/23 academic year.
By Nancy Figiel, Tryon Palace Public Affairs Director