Union County - Carolina Weekly Newspapers

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
A guide to events, organizations and people in the community
Contributions, free concert help
Symphony open 78th season
by Sean O’Connell
sean@unioncountyweekly.com
Seated under a banner asking patrons to
“Stand up for your Charlotte Symphony,”
musicians entertained more than a hundred
supporters during a lunchtime rally Aug. 27
at the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets
in Charlotte.
During the official season-kickoff
celebration, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
President and Executive Director Jonathan
Martin led a handful of speakers who
explained how the symphony is “interwoven”
in the community, and how it’s doing everything
in its power to remain a vital force, even
as it struggles to right the financial ship.
“We’re all in this together,” said former
North Carolina Gov. James G. Martin, chairelect
of the board of directors and a one-time
CSO tuba player.
String of donations
Some are more committed than others.
The uptown concert came on the heels of
an announcement that the CSO received a
$500,000 challenge pledge from an anonymous
donor that would go toward the $1.77
million “gap” funding the symphony must raise
to offset a projected fiscal year 2010 deficit.
As part of the donation, the symphony must
match the half-million dollars by Dec. 31.
The $500,000 challenge grant follows
another recent $500,000 donation given by
the CSO’s board. Fundraising to fill the “gap”
also has resulted in more than $11,000 from
The Symphony Guild of Charlotte, Inc., and
nearly $50,000 in individual donations collected
at the Fifth Third Bank “Celebrate
America” concert on July 3.
“(These) extraordinary gifts … demonstrate
a deep commitment to the orchestra and the
service it provides to the Charlotte region,”
said CSO Board Chair Pat Rodgers. “As the
symphony continues to strengthen, we are
encouraged by the community’s support and
the value it places on its symphony. We are
confident that this powerful call to action will
inspire others to invest, too, in their community
by investing in the (CSO).” q
Arts Beat
Youth Orchestra launches
in Monroe
Union Symphony Youth
Orchestra, a new program of the
Union Symphony Society, will
hold its inaugural concert on
Monday, Sept. 7, 1-2:30 p.m.,
in the South Piedmont Community
College Conference Center,
4209 Old Charlotte Highway,
Monroe.
The new youth orchestra
serves music students from the
greater Union County area who
are interested in the study and
performance of orchestral music.
The group’s mission, according
to its Web site, is “to provide
the youth of the greater Union
County area a quality orchestral
music education through the
performance of classical music;
to educate the community as to
the importance of artistic expression
in today’s youth and the
appreciation of classical music’s
positive influence on culture;
and to work in cooperation with
A snapshot of arts-related news items
the Union Symphony Orchestra
to enrich the artistic future of
Union County and its citizens.”
To learn more about the
USYO, visit www.usyo.org.
Weddington artist exhibits
During the month of September,
the Union County Community
Arts Council will host Weddington
artist Charlie Puckett’s
most recent paintings in the
council’s gallery, 120 N. Main
St., Monroe.
Puckett, a Kentucky native,
has produced landscapes, still
lifes and portraits. A member
of the American Society of Portrait
Artists, he teaches private
classes in his Stonecreek Studio
and gallery, 117 Kee Court,
Weddington. For more information
on the exhibit, call 704-
283-2784 or e-mail uccac@aol.
com. q
Send your arts news items to
sean@unioncountyweekly.com.
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Page CW 4c 14.854" • Sept. x 6.125" 4-10, v2.indd 2009 4 • Union County Weekly
8/6/09 5:24 PM
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