The month of January has been known in recent years to have the mysterious ability to inspire notable—dare I say, sublime—music performances for Knoxville audiences. The schedule for January 2019 gives a hint of what wintertime concertgoers might possibly expect…
Top Ten Most Read Arts Knoxville Stories of 2018
By Alan Sherrod Over the last week, we’ve taken a look back at 2018 and its memorable music performances, as well as the enlightening Top Ten lists from film critics Andrew Swafford and Reid Ramsey. But what stories and…
Most Memorable Classical Music Performances of 2018
By Alan Sherrod Although every music season differs in the performers involved and their artistic choices, each year has its unmistakable trends and distinctive personalities. Themes emerge, certain composers or music become trendy for one reason or another, and…
Review: Symphony of Voices Enchants With Concerts of Holiday Music
By Alan Sherrod In my review of the debut concert of Symphony of Voices in September, I wrote of thresholds being crossed and niches being filled as the Knoxville music scene gained a professional choral ensemble. Last Saturday and…
CD Review: Brendan McConville’s ‘Un D’Annunzio Nuovo’
By Alan Sherrod Competing pleasures confront the listener in Un D’Annunzio Nuovo, a recent recording of music by Brendan McConville based on the poetry of Gabriele D’Annunzio, the inarguably multi-faceted Italian poet and novelist of the late 19th and…
Review: Clarence Brown Theatre’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ – The Tradition Continues
By Alan Sherrod In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, it is Christmas Eve and time is of the essence for Ebenezer Scrooge. The familiar tale of Scrooge, from the 1843 Dickens novella that inspired a plethora of film and…
Preview: Two Weekends of Appalachian Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’
This weekend and next – it’s the 47th season for Appalachian Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. One American holiday tradition that sparkles with timelessness is that of productions of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker during the winter season. The Appalachian Ballet Company…
Review: A Feast of Variety in “Classical Christmas” from KSO and Knoxville Chamber Chorale
By Alan Sherrod In 2015, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra took a chance and moved its November Chamber Classics concert to the weekend following Thanksgiving and titled it “Classical Christmas.” That incredibly popular concert took a different direction from the…
Review: CBT’s ‘Santaland Diaries’ – A Delicious Clash of Holiday Comedy and Reality
By Alan Sherrod Two Christmas seasons working as an elf in Macy’s flagship store on New York City’s Herald Square was the inspiration for David Sedaris’ essay Santaland Diaries. Read by Sedaris on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition in…
Review: An Exciting Circle – Conductor Eric Jacobsen and Pianist Gabriela Martinez Join KSO For “Schumann’s Circle of Friends”
By Alan Sherrod It begins and ends the same way, simply enough, with four chords from woodwinds building onto each other. Yet, that four chord progression is one of the most magically captivating in all of music history and…
