WESTERN PIEDMONT SYMPHONY PRESENTS THE BALOURDET QUARTET

WESTERN PIEDMONT SYMPHONY PRESENTS THE BALOURDET QUARTET

Chamber Classics finale features Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and more

HICKORY, N.C. (March 20, 2023) – Western Piedmont Symphony (WPS), the professional orchestra of the western foothills of North Carolina, presents CHAMBER CLASSICS:

THE BALOURDET QUARTET on Saturday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m. at Drendel Auditorium at the SALT Block. The award-winning string quartet will perform Seven Limbs (2021) by Douglas J. Cuomo, Mendelssohn’s Quartet No. 4, and Beethoven’s Quartet No. 13, Grosse Fuge.

Prepare yourself for an evening of expressive transcendence as the Balourdet Quartet takes you on a Cosmic Serenade musical journey through time and space. Currently in residence at the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program, the quartet features violinists Angela Bae and Justin DeFilippis, violist Benjamin Zannoni, and cellist Russell Houston.

“We’re really excited for our program ‘Cosmic Serenade’,” the Quartet wrote in a statement. “We are featuring powerful music reflective of both the personal and universal quality of string quartets. It’s also a wonderful juxtaposition of two older pieces that were groundbreaking for any era, along with a brand new work that brings us into a state of timelessness.”

The new quartet Seven Limbs by noted television (theme for “Sex and the City”), film, and classical composer Douglas J. Cuomo “transports us into the world of meditation and Buddhist prayer. Felix Mendelssohn wrote some of his most passionate and sublime music in his E Minor Quartet, reflective of the emotional journey of what it means to come of age. To round out the program, Beethoven’s monumental Opus 130, the Cavatina from which was sent into the stars on the Voyager space crafts, will be presented in a version with the Grosse Fuge, a powerful finale that feels as brand new and electric as the day it was written in 1825,” added the Quartet.

Western Piedmont Symphony CHAMBER CLASSICS: THE BALOURDET QUARTET is sponsored by Dr. George Clay and Sandra Pait Clay and with generous support from the United Arts Council of Catawba County and the North Carolina Arts Council.

Chamber Classics tickets are $25; students $10 (17 & under or w/valid student ID). Purchase by visiting WPSymphony.org/Tickets, call 828.324.8603, or visit the WPS Box Office, located on the SALT Block at 243 Third Avenue NE, Hickory, NC 28601. Box Office hours are 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Mon. – Fri. Drendel Auditorium is located at 243 Third Avenue NE, Hickory, NC, 28601, part of the SALT Block campus. Concessions will be available for purchase before the program and during intermission. Please note: All programs, artists, venues, prices, and dates are subject to change.

Western Piedmont Symphony’s 2022-2023 season – Experience the Music. Hear Your Story – expresses human stories and connections evident in each of the works or composers represented. The 58^th season continues with Masterworks: The New Colossus featuring violinist Kinga Augustyn on April 22 and concludes with Foothills Pops: Shaken, Not Stirred, the Music of James Bond on May 13. For more information about the Western Piedmont Symphony 2022-2023 season of concerts and events, visit wpsymphony.org.

About Western Piedmont Symphony:

Western Piedmont Symphony (WPS) is the professional orchestra of the western foothills of North Carolina. For 58 years, WPS has enriched and engaged the communities of Western North Carolina through high quality symphonic music with creative, relevant performances and educational opportunities for all ages. Each season, the Symphony presents an inspiring classical Masterworks series, a fun and unique Foothills Pops series, varying ensembles in the Chamber Classics series, two Youth Orchestras, plus education and community engagement programs in the Catawba Valley region, all under the artistic direction of Maestro Matthew Troy. Western Piedmont Symphony is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council and is a funded affiliate of the United Arts Council of Catawba County. Business offices are located on the SALT Block at 243 Third Avenue NE, Hickory. Box Office hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mon. – Fri. For more information about Western Piedmont Symphony, call 828-324-8603, visit wpsymphony.org, or email [email protected]. Follow Western Piedmont Symphony on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter.

  ###