| For more information about this article or gallery, please call the gallery phone number listed in the last line of the article, "For more info..." |
June Issue 2007
An Appalachian Summer Festival Announces Its 2007 Season for Boone, NC
An Appalachian Summer Festival announces its 2007 season, packed with world-class arts events, including music, dance and theatre performances, visual arts exhibitions and events, workshops for children and adults and educational lectures and seminars. Held July 6-28, 2007, this summer arts celebration will feature artists as diverse as they are talented, from Dame Evelyn Glennie, Julia Fischer and the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra to the Mystical Arts of Tibet, Ellis and Defayeo Marsalis and the Mark Morris Dance Group to Bruce Hornsby, Old Crow Medicine Show and Wynonna. The dynamic summer season is completed by five visual arts exhibitions, including two national competitions and a season filled with hands-on educational opportunities.
Presented annually by Appalachian State University's Office of Arts & Cultural Programs, An Appalachian Summer Festival is attended by more than 25,000 people, and has emerged as one of the nation's most innovative and highly regarded regional, multidisciplinary arts festivals. Now entering its 23rd season, the festival is committed to showcasing American talent, commissioning new works, and building new audiences for the fine arts. For many years, the festival has been named one of the "Top 20 events in the Southeast" by the Southeast Tourism Society.
The history of An Appalachian Summer Festival is rooted in a tradition of presenting the finest quality music to an audience of true music lovers. The 2007 season of the festival represents the breadth of stellar musical offerings that has evolved over 23 years.
The festival is pleased to announce the return of the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra, which has become a favorite of longtime festival patrons, and continues to earn the respect of classical music lovers with each festival appearance. Now in its 46th year, the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra is the resident faculty ensemble of the nationally renowned Eastern Music Festival in nearby Greensboro, NC, where its members are brought together each summer from the best orchestras across the US. The orchestra is comprised of outstanding musicians selected from leading symphony orchestras and faculty of music schools across the nation, who also serve on the faculty of the Eastern Music Festival's training program for young musicians.
Dame Evelyn Glennie is a Grammy Award-winning Scottish virtuoso percussionist, widely regarded as the world's foremost and first full-time solo percussionist. She lost her hearing at the age of 12 and began to study timpani at that time, working extensively with her teacher to learn to sense percussion vibrations. The most in-demand solo percussionist in the world, she has performed with virtually all of the world's finest orchestras and greatest conductors in the most famous concert halls. Glennie is not only the first person to successfully create and sustain a full-time career as a solo percussionist in the history of classical music, but she is also redefining the goals and expectations of percussion students and orchestras the world over.
Conductor JoAnn Falletta has been hailed by The New York Times as "one of the finest conductors of her generation." An effervescent and exuberant figure on the podium, she serves as the Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and Artistic Advisor to the Honolulu Symphony. Both on and off the podium, she is a vibrant ambassador for music and an inspiring artistic leader. A July 8 performance will feature Glennie's signature piece, Joseph Schwantner's Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra, Piazzolla's Tangazo and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade.
Violinist Julia Fischer is among the top violin soloists performing for audiences around the globe, and one of the favorite violinists of the Eastern Music Festival. In 2003, Fischer appeared with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Lorin Maazel, playing the Sibelius Violin concerto in New York's Lincoln Center as well as the Mendelssohn Violin concerto in Vail, Colorado. Her 2003 Carnegie Hall debut received standing ovations for her performance of Brahms' Double concerto with Lorin Maazel, HanNa Chang and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Fischer has been on orchestral tours with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Herbert Blomstedt and the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dresden Philharmonic.
The esteemed, eleven-time Grammy nominee Gerard Schwarz, principal conductor for the Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra, has been named Conductor of the Year by Musical America, and has appeared as guest conductor with many of the world's finest orchestras since 1966. The July 22 performance will feature Gershwin's An American in Paris, Glazunov's Violin Concerto and Dvorák's Symphony No. 9, From the New World.
The Eastern Philharmonic Orchestra with JoAnn Falletta, conductor and Dame Evelyn Glennie, percussion - Sun., July 8, at 8pm and with Gerard Schwarz, conductor and Julia Fischer, violin - Sun., July 22, at 8pm, both in Farthing Auditorium.
The festival welcomes the North Carolina Symphony to the stage of Farthing Auditorium to perform their annual Pops concert, under the baton of the much-admired William Henry Curry. The North Carolina Symphony is a full-time, professional orchestra with 65 members. Begun as a WPA project in the 1930s, the symphony became the first orchestra to receive state funding on a continuous basis in 1943. Throughout its history, the symphony has sought to bring the most diverse genres of music to its audiences, believing it equally important to present contemporary and folk pieces as well as works from the great classical repertoire. The symphony has welcomed some of the world's greatest and most innovative musicians onstage, including Jerome Hines, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Joshua Bell, Midori, Lynn Harrell and Sarah Chang. The North Carolina Symphony is known for providing one of the most extensive music education programs of any US orchestra, and performs annually with the symphony orchestra of Appalachian's Cannon Music Camp.
William Henry Curry starts his 12th season with the North Carolina Symphony in 2007-08. He came to the North Carolina Symphony by way of New Orleans where he served as Resident Conductor of the New Orleans Symphony. Maestro Curry has conducted over forty orchestras. He serves as the artistic director for Summerfest and all North Carolina Symphony summer programs.
The North Carolina Symphony Pops concert with William Henry Curry, conductor - Wed., July 25, at 8pm. Matinee concert with Cannon Camp symphony orchestra students - Sat., July 28, at 12:30pm, both at Farthing Auditorium.
The July 25 program will include music from the films Star Wars and 2001, A Space Odyssey (fanfare from Richard Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra), as well as a variety of waltzes by Johann Strauss, and is sponsored by Allen Wealth Management.
The Hayes School of Music's Cannon Music Camp provides a four-week, music-filled retreat for music students who have completed grades 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12. Since 1969, Cannon Music Camp has offered the most comprehensive course of musical instruction in the Southeast, with intensive college preparatory work in performance and music theory. The program stresses ensemble performance and provides experiences in choir, orchestra, band, jazz and chamber music. On Sat., July 28, Appalachian's Hayes School of Music will present a combined matinee performance, featuring the symphonic band and symphony orchestra of Cannon Music Camp. The North Carolina Symphony will play side-by-side with the camp orchestra. The festival is pleased to offer this special opportunity for music lovers to enjoy collaborations among students and professional musicians.
An Appalachian Summer Festival has a long-held tradition of presenting the Broyhill Chamber Ensemble, and is pleased to present the ensemble performing a five-concert series entitled Reflections under the artistic direction of Gil Morgenstern. Morgenstern explains, "The Reflections series continues the well-established tradition of exploring both Old World masters and the less familiar but masterful works of contemporary artists. From sublime compositions created in the midst of horror and terror, to music inspired by painting and sculpture, each piece on select programs will reflect and refract the ones surrounding it in an interactive and intimate setting."
The Broyhill Chamber Ensemble is an extraordinary association of internationally acclaimed musicians which, in association with Nine Circles Chamber Theatre and its international Reflections series, presents an alternative to the conventional approach to chamber music programming. The ensemble's flexibility of instrumentation and great variety of repertoire make it the ideal group for exploring the full spectrum of chamber music's expressive palette and experimental performance. Whether in traditional concert format, in residency or in its Reflections series, the ensemble steps outside the customary performance boundaries by presenting programs that marry the intimacy of chamber music with the power of theatre.
Acclaimed for his artistry and technical brilliance as soloist with orchestra, in recital or as a chamber musician, violinist Gil Morgenstern has performed all over the world to overwhelming critical praise. Morgenstern is the artistic director of the Broyhill Chamber Ensemble, the co-artistic director of Nine Circles Chamber Theatre, an organization dedicated to exploring the collaborative nature of interdisciplinary performance, and the artistic director of performance series in New York City, Florida, Pennsylvania and Florence, Italy. He has been the subject of numerous television and radio shows, and he can be regularly heard on NPR broadcasts.
The ensemble will feature guest artists Jennifer Koh, Tai Murray and Carmmit Zori (violin); Danielle Farina, Hsin-Yun Huang and Kathryn Lockwood (viola); Edward Aaron, Ole Akaohoshi and Wilhemina Smith (cello); Linda Chesis and Nancy Schneelock-Bingham, (flute) and Simone Dinnerstein, Benjamin Hochman, Shirley Irek and Bair Shagdaron (piano).
The Broyhill Chamber Ensemble's Reflections Series is made possible by Ford Motor Company.
The Broyhill Chamber Ensemble
performing Beethoven, Penderecki, Brahms -Mon., July 9, at 8pm;
performing Schullhoff, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Golijov - Thur.,
July 12, at 8pm; performing Kuhlau, Reger, Gubaidulina, Bartók,
Händel/Halvorsen, Dvorák - Sun., July 15, at 8pm;
performing Schubertiade - Wed., July 18, at 8pm; and
performing Liszt, Still, Frank, Schumann - Mon., July 23, at 8pm.
All performed at Rosen Concert Hall, Broyhill Music Center.
The Mystical Arts of Tibet: Sacred Music, Sacred Dance comprises nine pieces believed to generate energies conducive to world healing. Robed in magnificent costumes and playing traditional Tibetan instruments, the Loseling monks perform ancient temple music and dance for world healing. Ancient societies conceived that ritual performance of sacred music and dance at auspicious times establishes communication with the higher powers of good and brings about healing on environmental, social and personal levels. In Tibet, whenever a monastery celebrated a spiritual festival, people from surrounding villages and nomadic tribes would assemble for three or four days of sacred music and dance. The Drepung Loseling monks are particularly renowned for their multiphonic chanting, known as zokkay (complete chord). Each of the main chantmasters simultaneously intones three notes, thus each individually creating a complete chord. Acclaimed author Dr. Huston Smith, who documented this Tibetan phenomenon in his film The Mystic's Journey: Requiem for a Faith, referred to multiphonic chanting as "lifting the human spirit to the level of the gods."
The July 13 performance is generously sponsored by Mast General Store and Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza.
Mystical Arts of Tibet: Sacred Music, Sacred Dance - Fri., July 13, at 8pm, at Farthing Auditorium.
Mountain music revivalists Old Crow Medicine Show, touring their latest release Big Iron World, promise a lively performance for the festival audience. Known for putting a little funk into their acoustic sound, Old Crow Medicine Show performs original songs, pre-World War II blues tunes and folk songs. The group's music features themes from the hardest-hitting notes of America's musical past, refined and redefined by fresh new voices. Band members Critter Fuqua (vocals/banjo/resonator guitar), Kevin Hayes (guitjo), Morgan Jahnig (upright bass), Ketch Secor (vocals/fiddle/harmonica/banjo) and Willie Watson (vocals/guitar/banjo) spin traditional folk and bluegrass with rock & roll attitude. The band originally formed when Ketch Secor gathered the musicians in and around Ithaca and Trumansburg, NY, and perfected their sound on street corners in Canada. Their fate was changed here in Boone, when the band was ultimately discovered just a few blocks from Appalachian's campus by Doc Watson's daughter, Nancy.
In 2004, CMT selected their album O.C.M.S. as a Top Ten Album in the bluegrass category. In addition to a full touring schedule, the band makes frequent guest appearances on NPR's A Prairie Home Companion.
Their July 20 performance is generously sponsored by Rock 'n Walls.
Old Crow Medicine Show - Fri., July 20, at 8pm, at Farthing Auditorium.
An Appalachian Summer Festival has a history of presenting jazz greats, and the 2007 season is no exception. This summer, the festival is proud to present a celebration of New Orleans, performed by father, mentor and esteemed jazz master Ellis and trombonist son Delfeayo of the highly acclaimed Marsalis family.
Ellis Marsalis is widely regarded as the premier modern jazz pianist in New Orleans. In addition, he has become one of the most renowned music educators in the country, imparting his extensive knowledge of jazz to students such as pianist and vocalist Harry Connick, Jr., trumpeter Terence Blanchard and of course, his four sons.
Many reviewers have labeled Delfeayo Marsalis one of the freshest modern voices on the instrument to arrive on the scene, placing him with the masters of the trombone, including the late trombone legend J.J. Johnson. According to the Hollywood Reporter, "...Delfeayo is charming, hip, and his trombone solo has sweep. You can hear in it a generation or two of New Orleans street musicians."
This performance is generously sponsored by Laurelmor - a Ginn Company Resort.
Celebrating New Orleans with Ellis and Delfeayo Marsalis and Friends - Sat., July 14, at 8pm, at Farthing Auditorium.
An Appalachian Summer Festival and Westglow Resort and Spa present an evening of fine dining presented by the resort's world-class restaurant, Rowland's, followed by an intimate evening of jazz under the stars. The evening begins with mansion tours, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Afterwards, enjoy a tented sunset buffet dinner, with dancing to the sultry sounds of the Queen of Classic Jazz & Blues - Lavay Smith - and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers.
Westglow's elegantly restored Greek Revival mansion, once the home of renowned artist and author Elliott Daingerfield, has been redecorated and refurbished to create the perfect venue for revitalizing mind, body and soul. The grounds of the resort are the perfect setting for an elegant evening of dinner and dancing under the stars to one of the great female jazz performers of our time.
Lavay Smith has become an internationally recognized Diva of Jazz and Blues, with a singing style influenced by Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Bessie Smith, Little Esther Phillips and other legendary greats. Her performances evoke a sensuous era of Jazz queens and sexy pinups and add a modern, feminist twist.
Sunset Dinner and Jazz at Westglow with Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers - Thur., July 19, at 6pm, at Westglow Resort and Spa.
The festival welcomes three-time Grammy Award-winner Bruce Hornsby to the stage of Farthing Auditorium. Hornsby has sold more than 10 million records since his multi-platinum debut in 1986. He draws from a wide array of influences among them jazz, pop, classical, bluegrass, rock, vaudeville and sounds both swinging and downright uncategorizable to create his patented blend of playful lyrical whimsy and formidably refined musicality. Hornsby's triple-platinum debut album, The Way It Is, recorded with his band the Range, generated three Top 20 hits (including its #1 title track), and earned Bruce Hornsby & the Range the Best New Artist Grammy for 1986. Hornsby took home his second Grammy Award in 1989 (Best Bluegrass Recording) for Valley Road, from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume II, and his third Grammy in 1993 (Best Pop Instrumental) for Barcelona Mona, created with Branford Marsalis for the Barcelona Olympics. In December, Hornsby was honored with another Grammy nomination (Best Pop Instrumental Performance) against Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, Enya, the Brian Setzer Orchestra and George Benson.
One of pop music's most in-demand "side" men, Hornsby has played on more than 100 records with artists ranging from Bob Dylan, Don Henley, and Bob Seger to Bonnie Raitt, Béla Fleck and Willie Nelson, and was a part-time member of the Grateful Dead, performing with the group from September 1990 to March 1992. Hornsby's ninth full-length album, Halcyon Days (2004) features Eric Clapton and Sting.
Hornsby will perform a set list through requests from the audience. Be sure to carry pen and paper some of the most creative requests are posted in collages on his website. This performance is generously sponsored by Mast General Store and Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza.
Bruce Hornsby - Sat., July 21, at 8pm, at Farthing Auditorium.
The festival's grand finale performance includes picnicking, dancing and fireworks, and features country music superstar Wynonna. The festival's much-anticipated Outdoor Fireworks Concert is sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation and Westglow Resort and Spa. This event takes place at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Gates open at 6:30pm, and the concert begins at 7:30pm. Seating is General Admission, and Blue Ridge Electric customers are eligible for discounted tickets. The performance takes place rain or shine.
A world-renowned vocalist and entertainer, Wynonna has accumulated sales totals as a solo artist in excess of ten million units, a top Female Vocalist win by the Academy of Country Music and thirteen top ten hits on the charts. Respected by the millions of fans who are drawn to her music and her life story, this twenty-three year music veteran has celebrated 20 #1 hits and a multitude of gold and platinum records. Innovative, inspired and imaginative, this phenomenal music icon continues to touch the heart and souls of many with her powerful, soulful voice and presence.
Wynonna signed her first solo record deal in 1992 and the rest, as they say, was history or perhaps, Her Story. With vast critical acclaim her first solo project, Wynonna, was certified for sales of over five million units and became the highest-selling debut album by a female artist at the time. A musical force like none other before her, Wynonna followed her wildly successful debut with the multi-platinum disc, Tell Me Why, as well as with the platinum-certified Revelations. Her greatest hits compilation, Collection, was released in 1997, the year that also found her gold record, The Other Side, flying from the shelves.
Wynonna burst into 2000 with a torrent of unleashed creativity that is expressed on New Day Dawning, her fifth solo outing which she also produced. She continued to capture the hearts of fans and critics alike with her #1 debut album, the third of her solo career, What the World Needs Now is Love, while also celebrating her 20th year in the music business. Wynonna is set to release her seventh studio album in 2007.
Outdoor Fireworks Concert Featuring Wynonna - Sat., July 28, at 7:30pm, at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
For several years, An Appalachian Summer Festival has presented some of the world's most prestigious dance companies, building a discerning and loyal audience of dance enthusiasts. The 2007 festival season presents two very different, yet equally remarkable dance companies that are guaranteed to delight and amaze audience members of all ages.
Widely acclaimed wherever it performs, Shen Wei Dance Arts is founded upon the fusion of art forms: dance, theater, Chinese opera, painting, sculpture and a unique hybridism of Western and Eastern cultures. The result is "fascinating fantasy in movement" (Sydney Morning Herald). The company, established at the American Dance Festival in 2000, made its debut in New York at the Lincoln Center Festival. Since its inception, it has performed throughout the United States and internationally. In 2005, Shen Wei Dance Arts received Australia's 2005 Helpmann Award for Best Ballet or Dance Work and most recently, it has been invited to participate in a five-year partnership with the Kennedy Center.
Shen Wei Dance Arts will stage its celebrated Rite of Spring at An Appalachian Summer Festival. The New York Times proclaims the performance, "Overwhelming... if there is something to write home about in the dance world, it is the startlingly imaginative work of the Chinese-born choreographer Shen Wei. His vision is painterly, mathematical, and idiosyncratic. There is original use of movement: compressing the torso in a tilt, erupting into very sharp turns and spirals or, by contrast, skating along the floor and rolling on the back, Chinese folk style. This is imagery and conceptualism with a difference. The audience... seemed momentarily stunned. A silence was followed by a prolonged ovation."
Shen Wei Dance Arts - Fri., July 7, at 8pm, at Farthing Auditorium.
The festival is thrilled to announce that the Mark Morris Dance Group will perform as part of the season's dance offerings. The Mark Morris Dance Group was formed in 1980 and gave its first performance that year in New York City. The company's touring schedule steadily expanded to include cities both in the US and in Europe, and in 1986 it made its first national television program for the PBS series Dance in America. In 1988, Mark Morris Dance Group was invited to become the national dance company of Belgium, and spent three years in residence at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. The company returned to the United States in 1991 as one of the world's leading dance companies, performing across the US and at major international festivals.
Mark Morris Dance Group is noted for its commitment to live music, a feature of every performance on its full international touring schedule since 1996. The company collaborates with leading orchestras, opera companies and some of the most prominent names from the world of classical music, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax. Hailed by The Boston Globe as "the most important choreographer since George Balanchine," choreographer and Artistic Director Mark Morris has created more than 120 works for his company. The company's performance at An Appalachian Summer Festival will include four much-lauded works, The Argument, Sang-Froid, Italian Concerto and Grand Duo, all choreographed by Mark Morris himself. Jean Nordhaus of The Washington Post, lauds, "Morris is our Mozart of modern dance. There is that same sense of easy fecundity, his air of an aging, congenial enfant terrible, the sheer brilliance and wealth of his choreographic invention."
Mark Morris Dance Group - Tue., July 17, at 8pm, at Farthing Auditorium.
Throughout its history, An Appalachian Summer Festival has presented world-class theatre companies in full production and introduced staged readings of new works in progress. The 2007 season presents a regional theatre company that is rapidly gaining a reputation for premièring important new works, as well as Appalachian State University's own Young People's Theatre company, continuing the festival's tradition of developing and nurturing memorable theatre experiences for audiences young, old and in between.
Presented as a world premiere in March 2006, Brother Wolf is written and directed by Boone native Preston Lane, Artistic Director of Triad Stage. Based on the epic poem Beowulf, with original music by singer/songwriter Laurelyn Dossett of the popular regional band Polecat Creek, Brother Wolf uses folklore and mythology to create a distinctly American story, infused with live mountain music performed throughout the show. Wander the hills and hollers of the Blue Ridge, following the exploits of Brother Wolf, preacher and pioneer, risking everything, fighting monsters, mothers and fire-breathing foes to protect the mountain settlers.
The Winston-Salem Journal's Ken Keuffel praises Lane's production: "Drawing on many influences, including Lane's upbringing in Boone, Brother Wolf explores primal mountain Christianity and the stories surrounding it with an arresting, multilayered combination of spectacle and music... live music plays a pivotal role at just the right moments. It reinforces the play's spiritual underpinnings and... gives the novice patron one more reason to give live theater a chance."
The Brother Wolf production at An Appalachian Summer Festival is generously sponsored by Footsloggers of Boone.
Brother Wolf, an Appalachian adventure with live mountain music, a Triad Stage Original Production - Thur. and Fri., July 26 & 27, at 8pm, at Valborg Theatre.
An Appalachian Summer Festival is pleased to present the classic fairy tale Rapunzel, performed by The Appalachian Young People's Theatre Company. Founded in 1972 as a dynamic component of Appalachian State University's Department of Theatre & Dance, the company works in partnership with communities and public schools of Northwestern North Carolina to bring high-quality, affordable, live theatre experiences to young audiences who otherwise experience little or no theatre. Each spring, the company, consisting of dedicated undergraduate theatre students, tours to schools, libraries and museums, performing for approximately 7,500 young people. In 1996, the North Carolina Theatre Conference presented the Constance Welsh Award to the company for excellence in theatre for youth. Join us for this unique opportunity to support the talented students of the Department of Theatre and Dance, while enjoying a remarkable family performance based on this well-loved classic fairy tale.
Rapunzel, an Appalachian Young People's Theatre Family Matinee - Sun., July 15, at 3pm, at Valborg Theatre.
For info on visual art events being offered at the Festival see our article on visual art offering during An Appalachian Summer Festival.
The Appalachian Retired Faculty's fifth annual one-day seminar will again be part of the festival schedule. The second of the three-year Appalachia and the World series, this summer's seminar is entitled A Day With Some of Appalachian's Rock Stars, and will feature sessions with current and retired faculty of Appalachian's Department of Geology. These members of the "Appalachian Family" have traveled to each of Earth's continents in search of answers to the history of our planet. As a result, they have had uncommonly rich opportunities to experience life and work in places very far off the beaten path while conducting their research. The session will begin at 9:30am with a coffee reception, followed by a morning panel discussion, during which the faculty will share some of their experiences and clearly explain their research findings in context of their relation to the "real world." After lunch, participants will be provided the opportunity to visit the McKinney Geology Teaching Museum and view exhibits of rocks, minerals, and fossils that are the keys that unlock the doors to Earth's history. Geology faculty will be on hand to share more of their experiences, discuss geologic topics chosen by seminar participants, and share a behind-the-scenes view of the museum and the new Geology Department facilities. An optional half-day field trip led by Dr. Loren Raymond to observe geological features of Grandfather Mountain is planned for the following day. Registration is required and enrollment is limited. Call 800/841-2787 or 828/262-4046 to register.
Fifth Annual Appalachian Retired Faculty Seminar, A Day with Some of Appalachian's Rock Stars - Mon., July 16, from 9:30am-3pm, at Belk Library and Information Commons Room 114.
The eighth annual Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Lecture will feature Dr. Gloria Houston, internationally acclaimed author of The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, and other books for children and teachers. Dr. Houston is internationally known as an educator and an author of award-winning, best selling books for young readers, as well as a writer of textbooks and other teaching materials. She typifies herself, however, as "first, last and always, a teacher." Her novels and picture books for young readers have won numerous awards. Perhaps her best-known, The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree was selected as "Most Likely to Become a Classic' by Publisher's Weekly and as a Best Book of the Decade by the American Library Association. It has been published in Japanese, Korean, and Swedish, and adapted as a musical, opera and ballet, with productions presented annually throughout the US Dr. Houston's other children's books include My Great Aunt Arizona, selected as a Smithsonian Treasure, Mountain Valor, Bright Freedom's Song: A Story of the Underground Railroad and The Littlejim Books.
Her handbook for teachers, How Writing Works: Imposing Organizational Structure within the Writing Process has inspired budding writers and teachers alike. Houston works with her childhood hometown of nearby Spruce Pine, NC, on their "Home of the Perfect Christmas Tree" project, whose products were featured on the White House Christmas tree in 2006. This event is free of charge and open to the public; no registration is required. This event is sponsored by the University Library.
Belk Distinguished Lecture Featuring Dr. Gloria Houston, With My Head in the Clouds and My Feet on the Mountaintops: Seeking Creativity in Commonplace Events - Thur. July 19, at 3:30pm, at Belk Library and Information Commons Room 114.
The festival's much-anticipated Silent Auction, generously sponsored by Peabody's Beer and Wine Merchants, serves as a fun way to showcase the region's area businesses while raising critical funding for the festival. The 2007 auction will feature a fine array of items donated by the area's most distinctive merchants and artisans. Festival patrons have the opportunity to bid on an extraordinary selection of unique products and services, including restaurant and hotel getaways, golf outings and spa packages, handcrafted ceramics, original artwork and tickets to area attractions. The auction opens on June 4 at 10am, and closes on July 22 at 9pm. Pre-registration is required in order to bid; bidders do not have to be present to win items. For more information about the festival auction, call 828/262-2248.
For visitors to Boone during July, the festival offers Summer Arts Getaway Packages. These packages are designed to be flexible for the desired length of stay, and can be tailored with a variety of lodging and entertainment options. Lodging is available at Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza, the Broyhill Inn, Chetola Resort and Crestwood Inn. Packages include lodging, tickets to festival events, guides and maps to area arts attractions, restaurant discounts and the option of adding tickets to other area attractions for a ready-made vacation in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. For more information about summer arts getaway packages, visit (www.appsummer.org/vacations).
Festival patrons can also take advantage of convenient Dining Discounts and Park & Ride Shuttle Service, designed to create a hassle-free evening around a world-class arts experience. More information about festival event convenience options is available at (www.appsummer.org).
An Appalachian Summer Festival would be unable to present and publicize its wide range of extraordinary programming without critical private funding sources, including a loyal and generous donor base and a group of outstanding corporate and media sponsors that are dedicated to promoting the arts in our region. In addition to the corporate support provided for the festival's Outdoor Concert by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation and Westglow Resort and Spa, the festival sponsors include SkyBest Communications, Laurelmor A Ginn Club Resort, Ford Motor Company, Mast General Store, Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza, Footsloggers, Rock 'n Walls, Inc., Allen Wealth Management, The Inn at Crestwood, Peabody's Wine and Beer Merchants, The Mountain Times, All About Women magazine, the Winston-Salem Journal, the High Country News, WBTV, WCYB, Charter Communications, Mountain Television Network, Aisling Broadcasting, WETS 89.5FM, WDAV 89.9FM, WFDD 88.5FM, WNCW 88.7FM and WASU 90.5FM.
Tickets are now on sale for all festival
performances. Ticket prices for most festival performances
are $18-$30 for adults; $10-$20 for students; and $5-$10 for children
12 and under. Many events are offered at no charge. For tickets
or to request a festival brochure, call 800/841.2787 (ARTS), or
828/262-4046, or visit (www.appsummer.org).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing
Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc.
Copyright© 2007 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts
Online, Copyright© 2007 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved
by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use
without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina
Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.