Milton Crotts, Conductor
Program:
Rigby’s Escape, Andre Madatianfor flute, clarinet, and string orchestra
Selections by The Walker Family Band
Scott Walker, Jennie Brunner, Landon Walker, Laura Boswell
Baroque Flamenco for harp and strings, Deborah Henson-Conant (b. 1953)
Tori Parrish, harp
Intermission
Alla siciliana – Allegro vivace – Andante, from Gaelic Symphony, Amy Beach (1867-1944)
The Nutcracker Suite, Op.71a, Pyotr IlyichTchaikovsky (1840-1893)II. Danses caractéristiques
a. Marche
b. Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy
c. Russian Dance (Trepak)
d. Arabian Dance
e. Chinese Dance
f. Reed-Flutes
III. Waltz of the Flowers
Other Holiday Favorites
Featured Composer
Andre Madatian, composer
Andre Madatian is a guitarist, composer, and educator currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee. Andre holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Film Scoring with a minor in Contemporary Conducting from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and a Master of Music in Composition from Middle Tennessee State University. Aside from composing, Andre is also an active touring guitarist, as well as an educator where he mentors students from all around the globe in several areas, including composition, arranging, orchestration, and music theory. Andre recently accepted a full-time professorship position with Tennessee State University, where he teaches arranging and music appreciation, and directs a commercial music ensemble.
Featured Soloists
The Walker Family Band
1st photo, Pictured Left to Right: Scott Walker, Jennie Brunner, Landon Walker
2nd photo: Laura Boswell
For over two decades, The Walker Family Band has delighted audiences throughout the Southeast with a distinctive take on traditional styles, performing Irish dance music and American old-time music with a forward-reaching attitude. They especially enjoy sharing original tunes, which grow naturally from these roots, and from their thorough training and experience in classical music and jazz. The result is varied music not compartmentalized into a particular genre. All now living in the Asheville area, the band is playing for events in the area. Jennie Brunner is a long-standing member of the Blue Ridge Orchestra.
Jennie leads the way with beautiful and heartfelt fiddle playing, and is a master of connecting with the audience. She is accompanied and supported, very capably, by her dad, Scott Walker, on guitar and fiddle, and her uncle Landon Walker on accordion and bass. For the Blue Ridge Orchestra performances, they will be enhanced by a close friend and extended Walker Family Band member, Laura Boswell.
Tori Parrish, harp
Tori Parrish (they/them pronouns) is a classically trained harpist with a degree in fine art painting from Stanford University and over a decade of experience performing at weddings, concerts and events. Tori has performed worldwide with the American Youth Harp Ensemble, as well as across the United States with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra. Some notable venues include the Stanford Memorial Church, Bing Concert Hall, SLAC Accelerator Lab in California, and St. Peter’s Cathedral in Vienna. You can learn more about Tori’s work at luxuryharpist.com.
