GREENVILLE, SC – Greenville Symphony Orchestra, led by Maestro Edvard Tchivzhel, will open its 75th Anniversary Season with the Masterworks Series concert “the 75th Season Celebration Begins” on Saturday, October 1, 2022, at 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 2, 2022, at 3 pm in Peace Concert Hall.
In honor of the 75th Anniversary, Knox H. White, Mayor of the City of Greenville, has proclaimed October 1, 2022, as “Greenville Symphony Day” and encourages all citizens to participate in the year-long celebration. Mayor White will present the Proclamation during the concert on October 1, 2022.
The opening Masterworks program will feature Where Water Flows, a world premiere by award-winning composer Bob Farnsworth. An alumnus of Furman University and long-time advertising executive, Farnsworth has created music for several IMAX Signature films. Farnsworth’s new piece was commissioned by the Peace Center in honor of the GSO’s 75th Anniversary. It celebrates Greenville’s industrial past, her natural beauty, and the rise of her award-winning downtown. Farnsworth’s company, Hummingbird Productions, also created a companion video to accompany the music during the premiere.
Following the debut of Where Water Flows, pianist Asiya Korepanova will join the Symphony to perform George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F. Gershwin originally called this 1925 piece “New York Concerto,” and the work certainly seems to reflect the energy and restlessness of the metropolis. The brash optimism of Jazz Age America sparkles in the concerto’s spirited and suave melodies in this dazzling showpiece for a piano soloist.
During the second half of the concert, the Symphony will perform Beethoven’s immortal Symphony No. 5. Beethoven created one of the enduring monuments of Western music with his Fifth Symphony in 1808. The work’s opening four-note motif is one of the most familiar themes in music history and evokes a thrill of anticipation for the drama about to unfold.
“It is an honor and great pleasure for me to be part of such a historic celebration,” said Greenville Symphony Orchestra Music Director Edvard Tchivzhel, who has led the GSO for more than two decades. “I am very happy that a new piece was commissioned to mark the occasion.”
Tickets to the Greenville Symphony Orchestra’s “The 75th Season Celebration Begins” concert range from $20-$75, with special rates for students and teachers. To purchase tickets, visit the Peace Center box office at the corner of Broad and Main Streets in downtown Greenville, or call (864) 467-3000 between 9:30 am – 5:30 pm Monday through Friday.
THE GREENVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA is celebrating its 75th Anniversary during the 2022-2023 season. Recognized as one of the finest professional orchestras in the southeastern U.S., it began as a small group of volunteer musicians performing in the Women’s Auditorium on the old Furman College campus. Since 1990 the GSO’s home has been The Peace Center in Greenville SC. The orchestra performs the classical repertoire in Masterworks and Chamber Series concerts and an Artists Up Close Series featuring smaller ensembles. In addition, they perform three Pops concerts annually. The GSO has been led by Music Director and Conductor Edvard Tchivzhel since 1999. The Russian-born Tchivzhel is the Symphony’s 5th Music Director. Through its Education and Community Outreach concerts and programs, the Greenville Symphony annually reaches more than 50,000 children and adults in the Upstate. greenvillesymphony.org
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