The 5 Browns Bring Virtuosic Multi-Piano Performance to An Appalachian Summer

BOONE, NC — Appalachian State University’s annual summer arts celebration, An Appalachian Summer, presents popular piano quintet The 5 Browns in Edge of the World, an eclectic, crowd-pleasing program that includes works by Holst, Glass, The Beatles, Mozart, Arlens, Muhly, Bach, Saint-Saëns and more, Wednesday, July 23 at 7:30pm at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts. The evening will showcase the ensemble’s vivacious and affable approach to music, as well as delight audiences with its visual and technical brilliance — rarely does one see five grand pianos in one room, much less on the same stage. The 5 Browns have released eight albums that have collectively spent over 30 weeks at #1 on Billboard Magazine’s Classical Album Chart. Tickets are $10-$40, with discounts for App State faculty/staff and local residents. To purchase, visit appsummer.org or call the box office at 828-262-4046.

“One family, five pianos and 50 fingers add up to the biggest classical music sensation in years.” —The New York Post

 “…the 5 Browns are a rare combination and a thrilling piano quintet.” —Bachtrack

The ensemble will also participate in an ARTtalk on Wednesday, July 23 at 1pm at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts Lecture Hall. In this intimate, behind-the-scenes chat, The 5 Browns will discuss music, touring, and life as musicians. The event is free and open to the public.

App Summer runs June 28-July 26 and features a diverse lineup of music, dance, theatre, film and visual arts programming. This season’s artists include Amos Lee, Ranky Tanky with Ms. Lisa Fischer, Tessa Lark, Joshua Roman and Edgar Meyer, Joan Osborne and Lisa Loeb, Heather Headley with Western Piedmont Symphony, Peabo Bryson, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, The 5 Browns, as well as more music, visual arts, and international films. Visit AppSummer.org to explore the full season and purchase tickets.

The 5 Browns Tickets
$40 Tier 1, $30 Tier 2, $20 Tier 3, $10 children 12 and younger. Discounts: 10% off Tiers 1, 2 & 3 for App State faculty/staff and local residents of Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Watauga, and Wilkes counties. To purchase, visit appsummer.org or call the box office at 828-262-4046.

About the Artists
The 5 Browns – Desirae Brown, Deondra Brown, Stephen Beus, Gregory Brown, and Melody Brown — all attended The Juilliard School in New York, where they were joined by the Browns’ youngest brother, Ryan (now retired from the stage). The siblings were the first family of five every to be admitted to train at the prestigjous institution. The quintet enjoyed its first wave of critical attention in February of 2002, when People magazine dubbed them the “Fab Five” and they were featured on Oprah and 60 Minutes. The 5 Browns have released eight albums that have collectively spent over 30 weeks at #1 on Billboard Magazine’s Classical Album Chart. The New York Post has proclaimed: “[F]ive pianos and 50 fingers add up to the biggest classical music sensation in years.”

The quintet has garnered extensive coverage from media outlets ranging from The Tonight Show, Good Morning America, The Today Show, and The View, to CNN, Fox and Friends, Public Radio’s Performance Today, and The New York Times. The 5 Browns have performed in hundreds of the world’s great concert halls, including Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium (New York), the National Center for the Performing Arts (Beijing), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), the Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), Laeiszhalle (Hamburg), Orchestra Hall (Chicago), Zaryadye Concert Hall (Moscow), and the National Concert Hall (Taipei). Individually and collectively, they have soloed with the National Symphony Orchestra; the Chicago, Philadelphia, Vancouver, New Jersey, Dallas, and St. Louis Symphony orchestras; and various other orchestras throughout the US and internationally.

The 5 Browns’ music — and the siblings’ child advocacy work — are the subject of the award-winning documentary film The 5 Browns: Digging Through the Darkness, which was chosen as a “Critic’s Pick” by The New York Times.

A highlight for the quintet was a commissioned five-piano concerto written by famed composer Nico Mühly. Under the direction of Maestro James Conlon, the concerto premiered at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The 5 Browns are thrilled to welcome one of their generation’s most electric pianists as a permanent member. Gold medalist at the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition and frequent soloist in concert halls around the world (including Carnegie Hall and Wigmore Hall), Stephen Beus has performed with The 5 Browns during four previous seasons. The Copenhagen Post labeled Beus as “Spectacular…it was like he placed the orchestra in the middle of a gigantic centrifuge and pushed start.” He brings impeccable technique, effortless musicality, and an unquenchable joy for music in every performance.The 5 Browns are exclusive Steinway Artists.

About All Tickets for An Appalachian Summer

With ticket prices ranging from $5-$65, as well as several free events and discounts for both children, students, and App State faculty/staff, App Summer offers unique opportunities for residents and visitors to create arts experiences suited to their individual artistic tastes and budgets. Purchase in person at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts Box Office (733 Rivers St), online at AppSummer.org, or by phone at 828-262-4046.

App State Faculty/Staff: 10% off Tiers 1, 2 & 3. Contact Box Office for discount code.

Local Residents (Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Watauga, and Wilkes counties): 10% off Tiers 1, 2 & 3 for select events. Enter zip code before selecting tickets online.

About An Appalachian Summer

Presented by Appalachian State University’s Office of Arts Engagement and Cultural Resources, this annual celebration of the performing and visual arts is held every summer in venues across the university campus, and features a diverse mix of music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and film programming. An Appalachian Summer began in 1984 as a chamber music series and retains strong roots in classical music, combined with a variety of other programming geared to varied artistic tastes, preferences, and price points. The series has become one of the region’s leading arts events, attracting more than 27,000 visitors to the High Country each summer. App Summer has been named one of the “Top Twenty Events in the Southeast” by the Southeast Tourism Society.

For more information, call the Schaefer Center Box Office at 828-262-4046, visit in person at 733 Rivers Street, or explore AppSummer.org.

Corporate Sponsors

Bonnie and Jamie Schaefer, App State Campus Store, Broyhill Family Foundation, Appalachian Home Care LLC, Art Cellar Gallery, Explore Boone, Goodnight Brothers, Highstreet Insurance Partners, Mast General Store, SkyBest Communications, Creekside Electronics, Grandview Events & Catering, Peabody’s Wine & Beer Merchants, Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Rosemyr Corporation, Courtyard by Marriott, Graystone Lodge, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Holiday Inn Express-Boone

Media Sponsors

WBTV, WCYB, PBS North Carolina, Our State Magazine, The Mountain Times, Watauga Democrat, WNC Magazine, Creative Loafing Charlotte, Yes! Weekly, Winston-Salem Journal, Greensboro News & Record, WZJS 100.7 and WATA 96.5, WHKY 1290AM and 102.3FM, WDAV 89.9FM, WFDD 88.5FM, WASU 90.5FM, and WKSK The Farm

Restaurant Sponsors

Coyote Kitchen, The Local, Lost Province, Pepper’s, and Timberlake’s Restaurant