WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (FEBRUARY 21, 2019) – The Winston-Salem Symphony presents North Carolina-based bluegrass phenoms Hank, Pattie & The Current performing with members of the Winston-Salem Symphony on Saturday, March 9 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 10 at 2:00 p.m. at Muddy Creek Music Hall at 5455 Bethania Road in Winston-Salem. This concert is the second concert in the Symphony Unbound series and follows on the heels of the sold-out Symphony Unbound: Mandolin Orange concert at The Ramkat in November 2018.
A small chamber ensemble comprised of Winston-Salem Symphony musicians will begin the concerts with Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, an instantly recognizable piece that is known for its lively and memorable melodies. Afterwards, the Symphony musicians will join the audience while Hank, Pattie & The Current take the stage for an unforgettable concert experience highlighting their groundbreaking contemporary bluegrass vocal and instrumental abilities. To round out the evening, Symphony musicians will return to the stage with Hank, Pattie & The Current for some of the band’s favorite songs.
The new Symphony Unbound concert series pairs traditional, “classical” music with other genres, taking the art form out of the concert hall and into unexpected venues throughout the community.
Tickets for Symphony Unbound: Hank Pattie & The Current start at $25 and can be purchased by calling the Symphony Box Office at 336-464-0145 or online at WSsymphony.org.
About Hank, Pattie & The Current
Two of North Carolina’s veteran bluegrass musicians join forces with some of the Triangle area’s most versatile musicians as Hank, Pattie & The Current to create modern, American, acoustic music featuring the full range of their talents as composers and arrangers. The band makes use of traditional bluegrass instrumentation in a nontraditional way to present original music to the listener that goes beyond the limits of the idiom. The arrangements take on a new level of maturation that follows in the footsteps of Béla Fleck, Mark O’Connor, Chris Thile, Sam Bush, Edgar Meyer, and Tony Rice. Hank, Pattie & The Current want to pick up where seminal crossover groups like The Punch Brothers, Strength In Numbers, and the ever changing Bluegrass Allstars call home. The music is vocal and instrumental, allowing the band to experiment with arrangements and tailor the compositions to become vehicles for exploration. Hank Smith plays banjo, Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw plays fiddle and sings. The band includes Robert Thornhill on mandolin and vocals, Billie Feather on guitar and Jonah Freedman on bass and vocals.
This concert and the Winston-Salem Symphony are sponsored by Season Presenting Sponsors Bell, Davis, & Pitt, P.A. and BB&T; Symphony Unbound Presenting Sponsors Chris and Mike Morykwas and Anonymous; as well as the Arts Council of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County and the North Carolina Arts Council.
About the Winston-Salem Symphony
The Winston-Salem Symphony, one of the Southeast’s most highly regarded regional orchestras, began its 72nd season in October 2018. The season will include performances featuring the five finalists for the Music Director position. Each candidate will conduct a pair of Classics Series concerts, and attendees will have a chance to play a role in the selection process. In addition, the 2018–2019 season will include a Plugged-In Pops series, Discovery Concerts for Kids series, an annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, the Concert for Community featuring Winston-Salem Symphony and Youth Symphony musicians, holiday concerts, three youth orchestra ensembles, and a multitude of educational and community engagement programs, including the newest offering, the P.L.A.Y. (Piedmont Learning Academy for Youth) Music program providing, primarily to under-served youth, instrumental music instruction and more. The Symphony is supported by Season Presenting Sponsors BB&T and Bell, Davis & Pitt, P.A., as well as generous funding from the Arts Council of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, the North Carolina Arts Council, and other dedicated sponsors. For more information, visit WSsymphony.org.
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