CHARLESTON, W.Va. –The West Virginia Symphony will join local bands this Saturday in Charleston to help kick off their new series, Listen Where You Live.
Shelem (Photo: WV Symphony website)
The symphony’s Marketing Director, Amanda McDonald, and Music Director Maurice Cohn were on 580 Live with Dave Allen earlier this week to talk about the event.
McDonald said the new series is a part of their ZMM Architects and Engineers Pop Series. She added that the symphony is teaming up with local bands and artists, including The Company Stores, the John Inghram Band, Shelem, and more, for a celebration of the best music in the state.
McDonald said this is a great way to kick off the series because of the variety of bands it brings together.
“It is a really great way to kick-off this fun series, which incorporates a lot of things that you don’t traditionally think about when you think of classical music, things like Santa Claus for our Sounds of the Seasons concert, and we have a magician come on at the second half of the season as well too, so things that are fun, and we’re really kicking it off with some amazing tributes to local music,” she said.
McDonald said Matt Jackfert, a member of The Company Stores and a composer, prepared all the charts for the performance.
The Company Stores (Photo: WV Symphony website)
She said it took nearly a year to ensure everything was ready for Saturday.
“To get all of these charts together so the orchestra and these bands can really combine for what’s probably going to be once in a lifetime moment onstage with the symphony at the Clay Center so it’s going to be a not to miss concert,” McDonald said.
Similarly, Cohn said it took many rehearsals to ensure both the bands and the symphony were ready.
“We have been working with Matt Jackfert for almost a year now to basically create custom versions of all of this music so we can all play it together, so that has really been a big project and he’s done an amazing job with that and so that goes a lot way towards sort of literally making sure we’re on the same page,” he said.
The event will take place at the Clay Center in Charleston from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Cohn said it’s a privilege to perform in a venue specifically built for a symphony.
“To get to have a home where you know we’re in a hall that is built for an orchestra, that sounds like it’s built for an orchestra that has the acoustics of an orchestra, even the little things it has the backstage set-up like an orchestra you know all of those things make a difference,” he said.
Tickets costs $19 and can be purchased at wvsymphony.org.
McDonald encourages everyone to come out, not just for this event, but for future ones as well.
“Make sure you are tuning in to the symphony for everything we’ve got going on, not only this upcoming Saturday but for the rest of the season, we’ve got some amazing symphonic and classical music concert, we’ve got some amazing pops concerts coming up, some collaboration with the ballet which we also love too,” she said.