The Greensboro Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the 100th birthday of Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich during a program titled “Happy Birthday, Dmitry!” at 3 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 17 in McCrary Theatre, located in the Center for the Arts on the Elon University campus.
The program will include performances of “Festive Overture” and “Symphony No. 1.” The symphony’s former music director and pianist, Stuart Malina, will return to perform Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”
Shostakovich, who died in 1975, was trained as a pianist and composer at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He wrote his first symphony at age 19 and performed internationally a short time later. His “Seventh Symphony” was written while Leningrad was under siege from the Nazis and recounts the city’s struggles with the invading forces.
Tickets for the performance are $20 for orchestra and balcony seating. Student seating is $5. Elon students, faculty or staff receive free tickets with valid university identification. Tickets may be purchased at the McCrary Theatre box office at (336) 278-5610. The box office is open from 12:30 p.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday.
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