Photo by Michael Morel
The Asheville Symphony Orchestra (ASO) presents a New Year’s Eve performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, on Saturday, December 31, at 8 p.m. The performance, held at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, will feature the Asheville Symphony Chorus and four guest vocal soloists. A celebratory after-party with a band, food and champagne toast will follow the concert.
“We’re hoping to start a new tradition this year,” says David Whitehill, ASO’s executive director, of the concert and after-party. “Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is a wonderful work to ring in the New Year and the time of year brings it even more meaning.”
The symphony will be conducted by ASO’s music director, Daniel Meyer, who will interpret the piece based on his lifelong love and study of Beethoven’s music. “The more that I have performed his symphonies, concertos and choral music, the more I realize what incredible genius and enormous spirit he imbues each work with,” says Meyer. “For me the ninth symphony represents the pinnacle of his symphonic style. The choice to use chorus in the last movement meant that his imagination was no longer bound to the instruments of the orchestra.”
In addition to the chorus, prepared by Asheville Symphony Chorus conductor Michael Lancaster, guest vocalists—soprano Danielle Pastin, mezzo-soprano Kirstin Chavez, tenor Rolando Sanz and bass Steven Condy—will perform in the final movement. “It is always a distinct pleasure to sing with the marvelous soloists that Daniel Meyer brings in for these performances of choral/orchestral works,” says Lancaster. “The humanitarian sentiments of the text intensify its relevance for us today, so rehearsing this great piece is a labor of love.”
The ASO performs and promotes symphonic music for the benefit, enjoyment and education of the people of Western North Carolina. The Symphony presents seven full orchestra Masterworks concerts per year, and each concert features a performance by a guest artist. ASO’s programming reflects a desire to present both the ‘old favorites’ and more recent works. Meyer, who has been the organization’s music director since 2004, is committed to innovative programs and dedicated to creating and sustaining enthusiastic audiences for classical music.
“What I enjoy about Beethoven’s Ninth is the enormity of it, the joy of the work, the drama, the passion—and the fact that Beethoven truly believed in this brotherhood of man,” says Meyer. “That if we aligned our spirits somehow, and if we aligned our intentions toward good will and universal brotherhood, we truly could realize what we were meant to be. All that manifests itself in this incredible ‘Ode to Joy.’”
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium is located at 87 Haywood Street in Asheville. Tickets are $22–$74 depending on seating section, with an additional charge to attend the after-party. Reduced youth pricing is available. Single tickets and season ticket packages can be purchased online at ashevillesymphony.org, by phone at 828.254.7046 or in person at the US Cellular Center box office.
