CHARLOTTE – Nov. 06, 2009 – The Charlotte Symphony will present “Changing Places, Changing Tunes: Music on the Move from Mozart to Gershwin” on Friday, November 13, 2009 at 8 p.m. in Robinson Hall’s Anne R. Belk Theater at UNC Charlotte. The performance is part of the Symphony’s “On Campus” series and will feature a special pre-concert performance of an original piece by UNC Charlotte composer John Allemeier at 7 p.m.

Inspired by a current exhibit at the Levine Museum of the New South, “Changing Places, Changing Tunes” celebrates cultural diversity in music from the 18th to the 20th century. From the Turkish musings of Mozart to Hungarian tunes by Brahms to "new world" discoveries by Dvorák and Gershwin, the concert presents a lively musical journey across centuries and continents. Original film creations add a multi-media component to the live music.

During the pre-concert event, a five-piece ensemble of Symphony musicians and UNC Charlotte faculty will perform “Those Voices,” a nine-minute chamber piece by faculty composer John Allemeier. “As I toured the “Changing Places” exhibit at the Levine Museum of the New South, I was struck by the diversity of voices and languages represented,” says Allemeier. ‘Those Voices’ is a reaction to that exhibit, and it represents how all of these voices can come together to achieve a unique outcome.”

Allemeier is a professor of composition and music theory at UNC Charlotte and an active composer. His music has been performed throughout North American and Europe as well as in Brazil, South Korea, Turkey, and Australia and featured at several international, national, and regional music festivals including the Festival of New Music in San Francisco, Music of the XXI Century at the Moscow Conservatory, and conferences of the College Music Society.

Guest conductor Chelsea Tipton, II will lead the orchestral concert. A native of Greensboro, N.C., Tipton is music director of the Symphony of Southeast Texas in Beaumont. As a sought-after guest conductor, Tipton has appeared with major orchestras in the United States including the Chicago, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, New World, and Nashville Symphony Orchestras, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestras, among others. He has appeared on the NBC “Today Show” and has performed as a section clarinet player with James Galway and the Eastman Philharmonia, Wynton Marsalis and the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and the Rochester Philharmonic on recordings with RCA Classical, CBS Masterworks, and Pro Arte labels.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $16 for UNC Charlotte faculty and staff, and $12 for all students and are available at the Robinson Hall box office.  Visit www.unccboxoffice.com or call 704.687.1849.

About UNC Charlotte
UNC Charlotte is North Carolina’s urban research institution. With an enrollment ranking it fourth among the 17 schools in the UNC system, it is the largest public university in the greater Charlotte metropolitan region. A doctoral institution, UNC Charlotte serves the region through applied research, knowledge transfer and engaged community service. For fall 2009, approximately 24,700 students, including 5,300 graduate students, were enrolled in one of the University’s comprehensive doctoral, master’s or bachelor’s programs. Follow us on the Web at www.uncc.edu, through Facebook at www.facebook.com/UNCCharlotte , Twitter at UNCCLT_News and our blog at http://unccltnews.blogspot.com/.

About the Charlotte Symphony
The Charlotte Symphony is the largest and most active performing arts organization in the central Carolinas, employing over 100 professional musicians, 62 on full-time contracts. The Orchestra's principal home is the acoustically acclaimed 1,970-seat Belk Theater of the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. Throughout its history the CSO has collaborated with the world's leading soloists, including Andrés Segovia, Alicia de Larrocha, Luciano Pavarotti, Isaac Stern, André Watts, Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, and Yo-Yo Ma among many others. Committed to performing works by American composers and to expanding the orchestral repertoire through commissioning, the Charlotte Symphony has given the world premiere of more than 30 compositions. For more information, please visit www.charlottesymphony.org.

                                                            ###

UNC Charlotte Public Relations contact:  Buffie Stephens, 704.687.5830, BuffieStephens@uncc.edu.

Charlotte Symphony media contact:  Meg Whalen, 704.714.5114, megw@charlottesymphony.org.