Charlotte Symphony Orchestra Explores Home, Heritage, and Belonging at An Appalachian Summer Festival

Resident Conductor Christopher James Lees leads Dvořák's "New World" Symphony and Copland's Appalachian Spring on July 1 as part of the festival's acclaimed Classic Concert Series.

BOONE, NC — On Wednesday, July 1 at 7:30pm, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) takes audiences on a musical journey exploring home, identity, and belonging. Part of An Appalachian Summer Festival, Appalachian State University’s annual multidisciplinary arts celebration, the performance will be presented at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $10–$45 and available through the Schaefer Center Box Office, by phone at 828-262-4046, or online at AppSummer.org.

Under the baton of Resident Conductor Christopher James Lees, the CSO presents a program that explores the deep connections between home, heritage, and identity. Antonín Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony weaves together echoes of his Czech heritage with American musical influences, expressing both longing for home and excitement for a new land. Featuring the beloved “Simple Gifts” melody, Aaron Copland’s Suite from Appalachian Spring evokes the spirit of rural America through a moving portrait of hope, community, and new beginnings.

About Charlotte Symphony Orchestra

Led by Grammy-winning Music Director Kwamé Ryan, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is the oldest continuously operating symphony orchestra in the Carolinas and Charlotte’s most active performing arts group. Founded in 1932, the CSO plays a leading cultural role in the Charlotte area and serves the community as a civic leader, reflecting and uniting the region through the transformative power of live music. The CSO presents around 175 concerts each season, between mainstage in Uptown Charlotte — in series of Classical, Pops, Movie, and Family concerts and specials — and performances held across the community and surrounding region, including CSO Roadshow concerts on the mobile stage. 

An Appalachian Summer Festival takes place June 27–August 1, 2026, bringing six weeks of music, dance, theatre, film, and visual arts to multiple venues across App State’s campus. The Schaefer Spotlight Series features Gladys Knight, Straight No Chaser, Darren Criss, Rick Springfield, and The Jayhawks, while the Classic Concert Series showcases the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Merz Trio, WindSync, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, The Other Mozart, Calidore String Quartet, and Aaron Diehl. The festival also includes visual arts exhibitions, free ARTtalks, and an international film series. For tickets and information, visit AppSummer.org.

The Classic Concert Series Events

• Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, July 1 at 7:30pm | Schaefer Center
• WindSync: Peter and the Wolf, July 12 at 2pm | Rosen Concert Hall

This family-friendly show brings classical music to life with an unforgettable cast of characters. Complete with costumes and choreography, this engaging 45-minute performance introduces the five wind instruments of the orchestra and concludes with an exciting retelling of Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev. Peter, the wolf, and their friends the duck, the cat, and the little bird will make a live appearance! Young audience members are invited to come in costume as their favorite character!

• WindSync, July 12 at 7:30pm | Rosen Concert Hall

Over nearly 20 years, WindSync has proven itself “a major force in the American chamber music landscape” (Arts and Culture Texas). Breaking the “fourth wall” between performers and audience, WindSync’s dynamic performance style incorporates memorization and storytelling to showcase the expressive range of the flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, and bassoon. The quintet performs a summery set of classical music with an American accent, inflected with folk, jazz, and minimalism. Also featured is Mozart’s Serenade in C minor, a dramatic masterpiece of classical music.

• Complexions Contemporary Ballet, July 16 at 7:30pm | Schaefer Center

Raw athleticism meets sleek precision, where 16 powerful dancers command the stage with fierce grace and technical brilliance that'll leave you breathless. Featuring mixed rep that spans the company’s 31-year history and Love Rocks – set to the electric, guitar-driven anthems of Grammy legend Lenny Kravitz. Feel the energy in a vibrant celebration of love, diversity, and everything that makes us human.

• The Other Mozart, July 19 at 2pm | Valborg Theatre

This award-winning play is the true, forgotten story of Maria Anna (Nannerl) Mozart, the sister of Amadeus — a prodigy, virtuoso and composer, who performed throughout Europe with her brother, to equal acclaim, but whose work and story faded away, lost to history. The one-woman tour de force is based on facts, stories, and lines pulled directly from the Mozart family’s humorous and heartbreaking letters.

• Calidore String Quartet, July 29 at 7:30pm | Rosen Concert Hall

The Washington Post said of Calidore String Quartet that “four more individual musicians are unimaginable, yet these speak, breathe, think and feel as one.” The ensemble's artistry reflects a profound engagement with both the classical canon and the evolving language of 21st-century chamber music. The evening's program features the works of Joseph Haydn, Wynton Marsalis, and Ludwig van Beethoven.

• Aaron Diehl, July 31 at 7:30pm | Rosen Concert Hall

Pianist Aaron Diehl has quietly redefined the boundary between jazz and classical music, building an international career distinguished by a deep sense of musical lineage. Praised for his “melodic precision, harmonic erudition, and elegant restraint” (The New York Times), Diehl is recognized as a singular voice whose work moves freely across genres while remaining grounded in historical awareness.

Tickets

Prices are structured for multiple artistic tastes and budgets, with several free events and discounts for children, students, and App State faculty/staff. Tickets are available 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.

About An Appalachian Summer Festival

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 Festival 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 festival has become one of the region’s leading arts events, attracting more than 27,000 visitors to the High Country each summer. Southern Living Magazine called App Summer “a cultural hotspot [and] one of America’s biggest summer arts celebrations.”

Corporate Sponsors

Bonnie and Jamie Schaefer, Christine Petti, Neil and Nancy Schaffel, App State Campus Store, Broyhill Family Foundation, Catsman Foundation, Mast General Store, Appalachian Home Care LLC, The Art Cellar Gallery, Dianne Davant & Associates, Explore Boone, Goodnight Brothers, Highstreet Insurance Partners, SkyBest Communications, Banner Elk TDA, 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, The Assembly, 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, LP on Main, and Pepper’s

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