Durham Symphony’s The Promise of America, conducted by Music Director William Henry Curry
The Durham Symphony and Music Director William Henry Curry invite you to experience The Promise of America. The concert will take place at the Hayti Heritage Center on October 20, 2024, at 3pm.
Elizabeth Williams Taylor (soprano) and Scott MacLeod (baritone) animate the songs of Aaron Copland in this program of familiar and unfamiliar works depicting historic times and places in the American experience. This event will celebrate the best of America’s music and its mission, including an examination of classical music which has captivated a variety of past U.S. presidents. One of these selections will be Richard Nixon’s favorite orchestral work, Richard Rodgers’ music for the WW II documentary Victory at Sea. Other selections include Roy Harris’ “Awakening” from his “Gettysburg” Symphony, Copland’s “The Promise of Living” from his opera The Tender Land, Morton Gould’s American Salute, and “Nimble Feet” by pioneering African American composer Florence Price. The latter work, originally for solo piano, will be presented in an orchestration by another brilliant African American composer and instrumentalist, William Grant Still.
In further exciting news, Curry expands upon the addition of Morton Gould’s Song and Dance: “This is a piece for saxophone that Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Morton Gould wrote for President Bill Clinton” and it will receive its world premiere at this concert, soloed by “local jazz star” Gregg Gelb.
Please join us in the Hayti lobby immediately following the performance for refreshments and a chance to meet the artists.
Tickets available online until 12 noon on 10/20/24 or purchase tickets at the door, starting at 2:15 pm!
This will be another exciting, educational, and diverse program showcasing orchestral music as a vibrant part of community life.
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Elizabeth Williams Taylor, soprano and actress, has enjoyed an extensive professional career in Broadway/Musical Theatre, Opera, Classical/Pops Symphonic Concert stage, and TV/Film.
Touring across the USA and Canada, Elizabeth starred as Guenevere opposite Sir Richard Harris as King Arthur in the National Broadway Tour of “Camelot”. Other favorite roles she has performed are Laurie in “Oklahoma”, Eliza in “My Fair Lady”, Maria in “The Sound of Music”, Marsinah in “Kismet” and many more. On the Opera stage, Elizabeth has sung the role of Musetta in Puccini’s “La Boheme” with North Carolina Opera(Raleigh) and Opera Carolina(Charlotte). She also sang the role of Valencienne in “The Merry Widow” with North Carolina Opera. With Greensboro Opera, she sang the roles Kate Pinkerton in “Madama Butterfly”, Lucy in “The Telephone” and Countess Ceprano in “Rigoletto”. Other opera credits include Jackie in Michael Daughterty’s “Jackie O”, and Ariel in Lee Hoiby’s “The Tempest” with Long Leaf Opera Festival. She was also privileged to perform the Southern Premiere of world-renowned American Opera composer Jake Heggie’s(Dead Man Walking) “At the Statue of Venus”, with Jake accompanying her at the piano. The one act opera for soprano and piano was performed at UNC-Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill at the Long Leaf Opera Festival.
On the concert stage, Elizabeth has performed as soprano soloist in Carmina Burana at UNC-Memorial Hall with Chapel Hill Choral Society and symphony, the Milwaukee “Music Under The Stars” Symphony in Washington Park, Asheville, Durham, Fayetteville symphonies and with the Greensboro Oratorio Society and symphony. She has performed several times as Soprano soloist with the NC Symphony singing both classical and Broadway Pops. As the role of Grace Kelly in the American Opera “Jackie O”, Elizabeth made her European Debut at Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Italy. The opera was filmed and can been seen on DVD.
Elizabeth was Miss North Carolina 1982 (winner of talent and swimsuit scholarships at Miss America).
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Dr. Scott MacLeod maintains an active musical career as a singer, conductor, and teacher. Notable roles as soloist include John Adams’ The Wound Dresser with the North Carolina Symphony and Maestro William Henry Curry, Frederik in A Little Night Music with Piedmont Opera, a workshop performance of Scott Wheeler’s The Sorrows of Frederick with the Center for Contemporary Opera in New York City, Hercules in Patrick Morganelli’s Hercules v. Vampires with North Carolina Opera, Pangle in the North Carolina premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain, three tours of Messiah with the National Symphony of Costa Rica, and a performance of original works by J. Mark Scearce at the historic Municipal House in Prague.
As Chorus Master for North Carolina Opera, he has participated in 28 productions since the 2013 production of Aida. Most recently he led the NCO chorus in Andrea Bocelli’s sold-out Valentine’s Day concert in PNC Arena. In 2022 he received a state department grant from the U.S. Consulate in Marseille, France, to perform an ocean conservation-themed recital tour, which culminated in a performance in Monaco for Prince Albert II and invited guests; he performed the same concert in the Washington National Gallery Music Series on Earth Day, 2023. He spent summers of 2016 and 2017 as a guest artist/lecturer in China, where he staged and music directed their first full opera production, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo; he was awarded an honorary faculty post at Shaoguan University (Guangdong, China).
Dr. MacLeod is Associate Professor of Voice and Lyric Theatre at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was formerly Professor of Music at High Point University (2012-2024), where he received the 2021 “Innovation and Creativity in Teaching” Award
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Gregg Gelb, D.M.A is a saxophonist, clarinetist, band leader, arranger, composer and educator. He is director of the Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble, founder and director of the Heart of Carolina Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Society, and co-founder and player with the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra. He also leads La Fiesta Latin Jazz Quintet, the Second Line Stompers, the Gregg Gelb Swing Band and his Jazz Quartet. Gelb was given the Raleigh Medal of Arts in 2018. Gelb is a recipient of a Jazz Composers Award from the North Carolina Arts Council.
Gelb was saxophone soloist playing the music of Charlie Parker on “Bird with Strings” with the Durham Symphony Orchestra in March, 2014 and May, 2015. Gelb was saxophone soloist on “Escapades,” by John Williams with the North Carolina Symphony (June, 2014 and April, 2004). The Gregg Gelb Swing Band (in April, 1999) performed Gelb’s compositions and “A Journey Into Jazz,” written by Nat Hentoff and orchestrated by Gunther Schuller, with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra for its young people’s concerts that were also broadcast on WUNC-TV.
About the Durham Symphony:
Founded in 1976 as one of the Triangle’s first community orchestras, the Durham Symphony Orchestra (DSO), has evolved into an auditioned professional group offering affordably priced or free concerts in a wide variety of community spaces. Concert programs range from Baroque to contemporary plus the best of Broadway, Jazz, and Hollywood selections. The orchestra regularly features works by American composers,composers of color, and women plus a diverse array of guest artists. The DSO has presented many premieres by gifted local and regional composers. Educational and mentorship programs are also vital to its work. The DSO performs often with young musicians and is committed to demonstrating that the joy of orchestral music belongs to everyone as a natural part of community life.
In 2009, conductor/composer William Henry Curry was named Music Director of the DSO, becoming the first African American music director of a symphony in the South and greatly enriching the DSO mission with his exceptional experience in education, outreach, and diverse programming. He was already well known and appreciated throughout our state and far beyond. For 20 years, Maestro Curry was Resident Conductor and Summerfest Artistic Director of the North Carolina Symphony. His engagements have also included the Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Detroit, and Atlanta Symphonies as well as the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Thailand, and the National Orchestra of Taiwan. Mr. Curry has held Resident Conductor posts with the Baltimore Symphony, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra and has served as Associate Conductor of the Indianapolis and Atlanta Symphonies. His Eulogy for a Dream, a work for speaker and orchestra using excerpts from the speeches of Martin Luther King, was suggested to him by King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, and has been performed by orchestras around the world. Here in Durham, Maestro Curry has delivered from the first on his commitment to make great orchestral music accessible to all—showcasing the classics while celebrating our diverse community and the eclecticism of American music itself.