Masterwork Series Concert to Benefit Ladies Night Out
Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, for an evening of dazzling musical entertainment and prepare for your imaginations to run wild. Presented by Music Foundation of Western North Carolina, “World Masterwork Series: The Greatest Show on Earth” on Saturday, September 3, guides audience members on a fantastic journey in two parts. The production begins at 7 p.m. at Diana Wortham Theatre, 2 S. Pack Square in downtown Asheville.
The evening begins with young pianists Christopher Tavernier and Nolan Anthony performing well-known piano solos by some of the greatest composers of all time, including Bach, Chopin, Prokofiev, Schumann, Liszt, and Debussy. At the age of 13, Christopher made his debut as the youngest concert pianist in North Carolina, performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B Flat minor with the Tar River Philharmonic Orchestra. Last March, Nolan made his Carnegie Hall debut on viola and piano in the Carolina Youth Symphony.
Following a brief intermission, Christopher and Nolan will be joined onstage by the Masterwork Chamber Players, top members of various local orchestras who are donating their time for the concert. Together, they will perform The Carnival of the Animals, a humorous 14-movement piece completed in 1886 by French composer, conductor, and pianist Camille Saint-Saëns.
The Carnival follows a young boy’s dreams when he falls asleep in The American Museum of Naturalist History and imagines the antics of wild and strange creatures. All ticket proceeds support the Mission Foundation’s Ladies Night Out program. “Ladies Night Out is a remarkable collaboration of women helping women in a life-saving and effective way providing free mammograms and health screenings for uninsured/ underinsured women,” says coordinator Ingrid Hansen.
Tickets ($9.50) are available through Diana Wortham Theatre by calling 828.257.4530 or visiting dwtheatre.com. Advance ticket purchase is recommended.