The Salisbury Symphony Orchestra will present a concert focused on giving thanks at 4 p.m. Sunday at Varick Auditorium on the Livingstone College campus.
“Because we have to schedule around the concerts of surrounding orchestras in order to have the best musicians possible, we have not been able to provide a concert this close to Thanksgiving before,” said David Hagy, the symphony’s music director.
Hagy said he expects the audiences to be “filled with joy of thanksgiving when they leave the auditorium.”
“There are so many beautiful pieces of music that celebrate giving thanks, it was hard to narrow it down,” he said.
The concert will consist of both classical and familiar music. Bach’s “Prelude to Cantata No. 29” (“We Thank Thee, God, We Thank Thee”) begins the concert, and other classical composers such as Beethoven, Copland and North Carolina’s Dan Locklair are included.
Seasonal songs such as “We Gather Together” and “Over the River & Through the Woods” will be sung by the St. John’s Men’s Chorus and the Rowan County’s fifth grade honors chorus.
The men’s chorus will premiere its version of “For the Beauty of the Earth.” The song, arranged by Daniel Carter and orchestrated by John Stafford will be sung by the combined choruses.
Audience members will be hard-pressed not to join in when Hagy completes the program with “Turkey in the Straw.”
About 50 men comprise the chorus, which provides at least two concerts each year. They have a small ensemble called Inner Voices that performs for smaller venues in the area.
The Rowan County fifth grade honors chorus includes about 150 students graders from all elementary schools in the county, including private schools. The group has been performing with the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra since 1992.
There will a shuttle bus available to take people from the parking lot to Varick the day of the concert.
Each year, the Salisbury Symphony offers special ticket prices to its annual family concert. Tickets are $18 for adults, $4 for students and $2 for children ages 8 and younger.
They may be purchased in advance at any of the Symphony’s ticket outlets including the Salisbury Visitors Center; Sidewalk Deli, Salisbury; Crescent Pharmacy, Rockwell; Green Goat Gallery, Spencer; or Corriher Springs Florist, China Grove.
Tickets are also available online through PayPal at salisburysymphony.org or by calling the Symphony office at 704-637-4314. The box office will open an hour before the performance begins.
For more information, visit salisburysymphony.org or call 704-637-4314.