Hickory – It’s a new year, and the Western Piedmont Symphony is celebrating with their third Masterworks concert, “Shades of Red.”

Masterworks III will be held on February 2nd at 7:30pm at P.E. Monroe Auditorium on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University.

Maestro Bruce Anthony Kiesling will be the guest conductor. He is the third of four candidates in the Maestro Challenge who hopes to become the next Music Director & Conductor of WPS. Active in a wide variety of music, Kiesling has a national profile as a conductor and music educator from coast to coast, conducting with the likes of Stevie Wonder, and Juan and Gloria Estafan. His current Music Director positions include the Adrian Symphony in Michigan and the Sequoia Symphony Orchestra in California. Currently, he conducts the University Orchestra and Opera at the University of California Santa Cruz. Under his direction, the WPS orchestra will perform Overture to Candide (Bernstein), Concerto in F (Gershwin) and Symphony No. 5 in D minor (Shostakovich).

WPS is also pleased to have Jeffrey Biegel return to Hickory. Considered a highly prolific artist, Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters upon Mr. Biegel for his achievements in performance, recordings, chamber music, champion of new music, composer, arranger and educator. Leonard Bernstein said of Biegel, “He played fantastic Liszt. He is a splendid musician and a brilliant performer.” These compliments launched Mr. Biegel’s 1986 New York recital debut, as the third recipient of the Julliard William Petschek Piano Debut Award in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. He studied at the Julliard School, and is currently on the faculty at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College.

Tickets range from $5 to $42. All tickets are available in advance online at WPSymphony.org/tickets, by calling the office at (828) 324.8603, or by emailing [email protected]. Tickets are available at the door one hour prior to performance. Mini subscriptions are also available for the remaining Masterworks concerts.

Masterworks III is sponsored by Catawba Valley Health Systems and Robert Abbey, Inc. Western Piedmont Symphony is a grant recipient of the North Carolina Arts Council and a funded affiliate of the United Arts Council of Catawba County. Business offices are located on the SALT Block at 243 Third Avenue NE, Hickory. Box Office hours are 10am until 4pm daily.

For more information about the Western Piedmont Symphony, call 828-324-8603, visit www.WPSymphony.org, or email [email protected].

Conductor Anthony Kiesling

Artist Jeffrey Biegel