Hickory – Western Piedmont Symphony (WPS), the professional orchestra of the western foothills of North Carolina, presents A Spring Piano Recital with pianist Dorothy Lewis-Griffith on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. at the Keiser Community Room, West Wing of the SALT Block. Ms. Lewis-Griffith will perform works by Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and the world-premiere of The Azalea Garden composed for Ms. Lewis-Griffith by Pauliina Isomäki. The recital is a special event fundraiser to benefit the Western Piedmont Symphony.
Single tickets are $50 and includes general admission and light hors d’oeuvres. Tickets may be purchased online at wpsymphony.org, call 828.324.8603, or visit the WPS Box Office, located on the SALT Block at 243 Third Avenue NE, Hickory, NC 28601. Box Office hours are 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Mon. – Fri.
Western Piedmont Symphony’s 2022-2023 season – Experience the Music. Hear Your Story – encompasses the human stories and connections evident in each of the works or composers represented. The 58th season continues with Chamber Classics featuring the Balourdet Quartet on April 1; Masterworks: The New Colossus on April 22 featuring works by Nkeiru Okoye, Erich Korngold’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra featuring guest artist Kinga Augustyn, and Peter Boyer’s multimedia Ellis Island; The Dream of America, and concludes on May 13 with Foothills Pops: Shaken, Not Stirred-the Music of Janes Bond featuring pianist Thomas Pandolfi. For more information about the Western Piedmont Symphony 2022-2023 season of concerts and events, visit wpsymphony.org.
About the artist:
Pianist Dorothy-Lewis-Griffith (Mrs. Adrian L. Shuford, Jr.) has received wide-acclaim for her great technique, poetic interpretation, and powerful performance. With a repertoire that ranges from Baroque to contemporary works, Ms. Lewis-Griffith brings new insights to well-known pieces, as well as showcasing some of the most exciting new, contemporary works.
Described by The New York Times as “a sensitive and attentive musician,” Ms. Lewis-Griffith has given recitals and soloed with orchestras in major U.S. cities, as well as in Europe, South America, and Asia. Ms. Lewis-Griffith began performing as a young age and made her orchestral debut at age fourteen as guest soloist with the North Carolina Symphony. She has released four recordings to date – A Bonn Recital; A Christmas Celebration; Gershwin: A Piano Solo Album, and Gershwin: An American in Paris, the last two featuring some of Ms. Lewis-Griffith’s own solo piano arrangements of Gershwin’s orchestral works. Her recording, Opus 109 and Other Favorites (2017) features a wonderfully innovative program of works for solo piano ranging from Classical to contemporary works. Her latest recording, Rachmaninoff Remastered (Zent Records, 2022), features superb new interpretations of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, performed with the Czech Studio Orchestra under the direction of Mikel Toms.
Ms. Lewis-Griffith completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees at The Juilliard School and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. She was also winner of a Fulbright-Hays Award, which led her to studying at the Conservatoire de Paris and the École Normale de Musique. In addition, she won a prize in the Geneva International Music Competition. Ms. Lewis-Griffith has served on the faculties of the University of Wisconsin-Superior, the Peabody Conservatory, Valdosta State College, and Catawba College in North Carolina. Ms. Lewis-Griffith is a Steinway Artist.
About Western Piedmont Symphony:
Western Piedmont Symphony (WPS) is the professional orchestra of the western foothills of North Carolina. For 58 years, WPS has enriched and engaged the communities of Western North Carolina through high quality symphonic music with creative, relevant performances and educational opportunities for all ages. Each season, the Symphony presents an inspiring classical Masterworks series, a fun and unique Foothills Pops series, varying ensembles in the Chamber Classics series, two Youth Orchestras, plus education and community engagement programs in the Catawba Valley region, all under the artistic direction of Maestro Matthew Troy. Western Piedmont Symphony is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council and is 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 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mon. – Fri. For more information about Western Piedmont Symphony, call 828-324-8603, visit wpsymphony.org, or email [email protected]. Follow Western Piedmont Symphony on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter.
