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For High Voice and Orchestra
PREMIERE
ROY CORNELIUS SMITH
CORNELIA LAEMMLI ORTH
SYMPHONY OF THE MOUNTAINS
Summer Tour
July 19 - North Carolina
Chetola Resort, Blowing Rock
July 20 - Virginia
University of Virginia at Wise
July 21 - Tennessee
Allendale Mansion, Kingsport
Ticket info
New work set for premiere
Atlanta-based composer Kevin Robison announces the world premiere of his newest work for voice and orchestra, “Fantasia on Appalachian Folk Songs,” which will be premiered by Symphony of the Mountains as part of its July tour of North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. American tenor Roy Cornelius Smith will sing the work.
The piece evokes the spirit and majesty of the Appalachian region through contemporary settings of four popular folk songs: ‘The Sunny South,’ ‘Barbara Allen,’ ‘The Farmer's Curst Wife,’ and ‘Pretty Saro.'
Smith, who attended high school with Robison in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, invited him to write "Fantasia" for the Symphony of the Mountains' summer 2024 tour.
The outdoor performances of the concert, "When the Stars Come Out" will be conducted by music director Cornelia Laemmli Orth.
Dr. James F. Daugherty, Associate Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Kansas, and former teacher of both Smith and Robison, wrote of the work, "Robison’s aptly titled “Fantasia on Appalachian Folk Songs” is exquisitely, intimately crafted from the heart. It takes a true child of Appalachia to remain faithful to source materials while ably expanding these musical ideas for symphony orchestra and soloist. That Robison’s former classmate will sing the premiere is but icing on the cake, a reflection of the deep pool of talented folks who call Appalachia home."
