North Carolina Symphony Launches 2013 Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series

CARY, NC, May 24, 2013 (Press-News.org) The North Carolina Symphony, led by Resident Conductor and Summerfest Artistic Director William Henry Curry, launches the 2013 Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series on Saturday, May 25, at 7:30 p.m. at Cary's Booth Amphitheatre. Gates open at 5 p.m. Children 12 and under are free on the lawn.

Brahms' masterful Symphony No. 2 in D Major is the finale to the concert, which opens with three pieces performed by the orchestra with the addition of citizen musicians - Herold's Overture to Zampa, Vaughan Williams' English Folk Song Suite, and Sibelius' Finlandia. The addition of citizen musicians will nearly double the orchestra's size for this concert.

This summer marks the 28th anniversary of performances in Cary and the orchestra's thirteenth season in the stunning lakeside pavilion built by the Town of Cary. While performances begin at 7:30 p.m., concertgoers may bring picnics, blankets and lawn chairs as early as 5 p.m. to enjoy the striking natural surroundings before the music begins. Children ages 12 and under are free on the lawn, so attending a North Carolina Symphony concert at Booth Amphitheatre is a wonderful summer bargain for families.

The eight-concert Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series offers music lovers a perfect family outing, and once again, concertgoers who display the biggest and boldest culinary skills can win prizes. The Whole Foods Market of Cary Picnic of the Week contest returns for the fourth year. Throughout the summer, groups of concertgoers selected as the best picnickers of that weekend's concert will receive a $100 gift basket from Whole Foods Market of Cary. Two honorable mentions in the form of $25 gift cards will also be awarded. Select Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series concerts also feature other pre-concert activities, including instrument zoos for kids and costume contests.

Tickets and Subscriptions
General admission lawn seating to "Summerfest Opening Night" is $28 in advance, $30 at the door. Covered table seating is also available for $30 in advance, $32 at the door. Children 12 and under are admitted free for lawn seating at all Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series concerts.

Flex tickets on the lawn and covered tables are also available for the entire series, on sale through June 7. Beginning at $84, flex tickets allow music lovers the easiest access to the Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series, for savings of up to 40% when compared to single-concert ticket prices. For more on becoming a series subscriber, visit the Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series page at http://www.ncsymphony.org/subscriptions.

This year's series lineup also includes "At The Movies: A Night of Oscar-Winning Music and More," June 2; "Classical Mystery Tour," featuring some of the greatest songs from the Beatles' songbag, June 8; "Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," featuring pianist Di Wu, June 15; "Broadway Blockbusters," featuring vocalists Scott MacLeod and Elizabeth Williams-Grayson and Symphony Associate Concertmaster Dovid Friedlander, June 22; "Holst's the Planets: An HD Odyssey," featuring the North Carolina Master Chorale, June 29; the Symphony's free "Independence Day" concert, July 4; and "Classic Celebrations: 1812 Overture," featuring the Concert Singers of Cary, July 6.

For tickets, visit the North Carolina Symphony website at http://www.ncsymphony.org or call North Carolina Symphony Audience Services at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724.

Booth Amphitheatre is located at 8003 Regency Parkway, just past the intersection of US-1 and US-64/Tryon Road, in Cary. Food and beverages, including wine and beer, are allowed on the grounds.

The series is presented by Rex Healthcare and co-sponsored by ABB, First Citizens Bank and the Town of Cary. Rex Healthcare Summerfest Series partners are Balentine and CaptiveAire. Media partners are the News & Observer, Fox 50, and Cary Magazine.

About the North Carolina Symphony

Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony performs over 175 concerts annually to adults and school children in more than 50 North Carolina counties. An entity of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, the orchestra employs 65 professional musicians, under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Grant Llewellyn and Resident Conductor William Henry Curry.

Based in downtown Raleigh's spectacular Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts and an outdoor summer venue at Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C., the Symphony performs about 60 concerts annually in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary metropolitan area. It holds regular concert series in Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines and Wilmington—as well as individual concerts in many other North Carolina communities throughout the year—and conducts one of the most extensive education programs of any U.S. orchestra.

Concert/Event Listings:
North Carolina Symphony
Summerfest Opening Night
featuring Play with the Pros
William Henry Curry, Resident Conductor and Summerfest Artistic Director

Saturday, May 25, 2013, 7:30pm
Booth Amphitheatre, Cary


Program Listing:
North Carolina Symphony
Summerfest Opening Night
featuring Play with the Pros
William Henry Curry, Resident Conductor and Summerfest Artistic Director
May 25, 2013

Overture to Zampa*
Ferdinand Herold (1791-1833)
/ arr. Aubrey Winter

English Folk Song Suite*
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
1. March: "Seventeen Come Sunday"
2. Intermezzo: "My Bonny Boy"
3. March: "Folksongs from Somerset"

Finlandia, Op. 26, No. 7*
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

Symphony No. 2 in D Major
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Adagio non troppo
III. Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino)
IV. Allegro con spirito


*Play with the Pros: Citizen musicians join the North Carolina Symphony for select works.