Stage set for an Appalachian summer festival

Stage set for an Appalachian summer festival

The festival welcomes the return of the North Carolina Symphony, and is proud to present for the first time another state arts resource, the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra. World-renowned performers such as opera superstar Dawn Upshaw, internationally acclaimed pianists Garrick Ohlsson and Andre Michel-Schub, celebrated violinist Cho-Liang Lin, and the extraordinary musicians of the Broyhill Chamber Ensemble will bring their unique artistry to the stage, as will jazz greats Wesla Whitfield and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and the School of Music’s noted organist and harpsichordist, Brian Bailey.

Ballet Hispanico and Philadance (the dance company of Philadelphia) are sure to please dance enthusiasts.

Popular attractions such as David Grisman Quintet and the legendary Doc Watson (sponsored by SkyBest Communications), Dirk Powell and Balfa Toujours are some of the other attractions that help make this season one of the most interesting and varied ever presented at An Appalachian Summer Festival.

Blue Ridge Electric proudly sponsors the festival’s enormously popular Outdoor Fireworks Concert, featuring one of the most popular new female country singers performing today: Jo Dee Messina, with Grammy Award-winning bluegrass artists Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. The Outdoor Concert (held at the conclusion of the festival, on Saturday, July 28th) is a celebration of both music and community spirit, and has become an annual tradition in the High Country. An afternoon “community fair,” hosted by Blue Ridge Electric, will precede the evening concert—with a special appearance by the spectacular Touchstone Energy Balloon.

Tickets for most events are $12-$24 (adults); $10-$16 (students); and $2 (for children age 12 and under)—with special pricing for the Outdoor Fireworks Concert. For tickets, or to request a season brochure, call the Festival Box Office at 800.841.2787, or 828.262.4046 in the Boone area. The festival’s website address is: www.appsummer.appstate.edu