BY ALAN SHERROD Concerts have an intriguing way of taking on a life and meaning of their own. That meaning may be obvious and intentional, or personal and ineffable. That is the joy—and burden—of those that program concerts: the…
Recital Report: Forrest Wentzel’s ‘Sanctuary Walls’ – Poetry by Brian Griffin
A collaboration between a composer and an author/poet can take many forms and involve varying degrees of artistic connection. However, when the subject matter of a very successful collaboration flows from a personally experienced tragedy, it is assumed that those…
Review: Knoxville Opera’s ‘Falstaff’ – An Exhilarating Winner
BY ALAN SHERROD In his Friday evening pre-curtain remarks to the audience for Verdi’s Falstaff, Knoxville Opera General Director Jason Hardy asked for a show of hands of those seeing a KO production for the first time. Surprisingly, what…
Miscellany: More Things To Catch in October
As the autumn leaves drift by the window, one realizes that October is now half way toward Halloween with a packed schedule of music and arts happenings still to come in Knoxville. Knoxville Opera — Verdi’s Falstaff Giuseppe Verdi’s final…
On Sunday: UT Symphony Orchestra Takes On Sibelius, Schumann, and Brahms
BY ALAN SHERROD It is simply too easy, if not dangerous, to take the University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra for granted. Year after year in the 20-year tenure of Conductor and Director of Orchestras James Fellenbaum—of the now UT…
Jon Batiste Among Big Ears Second Round Line-Up Announcements
The biggest problem many Big Ears 2024 music fans will have is not whether to buy a pass for the March 21-24 festival, but rather, how to wait that long without succumbing to embarrassing displays of anticipation. As is the…
Preview: This Week…Knoxville Opera Looks To Verdi’s ‘Falstaff” For Season Opener
Knoxville Opera’s opening production of the 2023-24 season will be the lyric comic opera, Falstaff, Giuseppe Verdi’s final operatic work. Based on Shakespeare’s play, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and scene bits from Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, the opera features…
Review: KSO’s Concertmaster Series—Nostalgia and History
BY ALAN SHERROD “Nostalgia is just History after a few drinks.” The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Concertmaster Series as hosted by Concertmaster William Shaub has always enjoyed displaying its dual personality of virtuosic violin showmanship contrasted with deep dives into…
Review: River & Rail’s Thought-Provoking ‘A Case for the Existence of God’
BY ALAN SHERROD The last ten years, or so, have been big ones for playwright Samuel D. Hunter. Along with a MacArthur Fellowship, his seventeen produced plays since 2010 include The Whale from 2012 which he subsequently adapted for…
Review: KSO Begins 2023-24 Season with Trumpets and Triumphs
BY ALAN SHERROD A sip of cold champagne, a trumpet fanfare, and an energetic welcome from Maestro Aram Demirjian greeted audience arrivals at the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s opening Masterworks concerts this past weekend. While similar to previous versions of…
