Classical

THE GATEWAY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PRESENTS THE FINAL INSTALLMENT OF ITS MASTERWORKS SERIES: LANDMARK CELEBRATION

The Gateway Chamber Orchestra (GCO) is proud to present its final concert of the 2017-18 season, The Masterworks Series: Landmark Celebration at the Franklin Theatre on April 30th.

This concert features Ludwig van Beethoven’s Lenore Overture No. 3, Aaron Jay Kernis’ Musica Celestis and Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3 in C.

Beethoven’s overture sets the stage for an evening of inspiring music. Kernis’ spacious and enchanting celestial music soothes the soul. The triumphant third symphony of Sibelius brings an adventurous season to a close.

“Beethoven’s music has been a source of so much inspiration for the GCO that it seems only right to tie up the 2017-18 season with this heroic overture,” explains Gregory Wolynec, Gateway Chamber Orchestra Music Director. “We first performed Kernis’ modern Adagio for Strings five years ago as a special tribute and we are delighted to revisit this gorgeous work.”

The largest orchestra that the GCO has ever assembled will perform Sibelius’ classically modeled symphony, which takes the audience on a musical journey ending with a rousing climax to the entire season, and the GCO’s first 10 years.

The Franklin Masterworks Series:

LANDMARK CELEBRATION

Monday, April 30th, 2018 7:30 p.m. – Franklin, TN

Pieces Performed:

Ludwig van Beethoven – Leonore Overture No. 3

Aaron Jay Kernis – Musica Celestis

Jean Sibelius – Symphony No. 3 in C

The Franklin Theatre,  419 Main St, Franklin, TN 37264

CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TICKETS

Elvis™ fans from around the world will gather in Middle Tennessee March 22-25, 2018 for the 2nd annual Nashville Elvis Festival, celebrating the music and legacy of the King of Rock & Roll™. The historic Franklin Theatre, located just south of downtown Nashville in the charming suburb of Franklin, Tennessee, will serve as the host venue. Tickets are on sale now at www.NashvilleElvisFestival.com.

Mark Anthony performing at the Franklin Theatre 2017

The 4-day festival will be filled with celebrity appearances, live music performances, an Elvis movie screening with special guests and 25 of the best Elvis tribute artists from all over the world. In addition, two special VIP events will feature live recreations of a Sun Records recording session and a Jungle Room recording session – both events will take place inside Paragon Studios – one of the nation’s top recording studios (featured on the hit series “Nashville”).

Special guests confirmed to appear include legendary game show host, TV/Radio personality and lifelong friend of Elvis, WINK MARTINDALE; Fan favorite SANDY MARTINDALE, a close friend of Elvis who was a featured dancer in “Viva Las Vegas” and other Elvis films; Award-winning actress VICTORIA PAIGE MEYERINK who co-starred with Elvis in “Speedway”; BILL BAIZE of The Stamps who recorded and toured with Elvis; GRAMMY®-winning recording artist KEVIN MAX; Award-winning singer-songwriter and TV/Radio personality GARY CHAPMAN; and many more.

Nashville Elvis Festival will also feature performances by some of the top Elvis Tribute Artists in the world. Scheduled to appear are BILL CHERRY, the 2009 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest® champion; DEAN Z, the 2013 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest® champion; Australia’s #1 Elvis tribute artist MARK ANTHONY; Award-winning tribute artist COTE DEONATH; and JEFF LEWIS, an award-winning Elvis Tribute Artist, GRAMMY® nominated singer-songwriter, actor and emcee.

The festival will also be hosting an Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest preliminary round with the winner moving on to Graceland’s Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest Semifinal Round in Memphis during Elvis Week 2018. Twenty contestants have been invited to compete in Nashville, coming from all over the USA as well as Germany, Chile, Canada, Brazil, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Backing all live performances will be the incomparable EAS Band, known for their performances all over the world backing tribute artists and giving the feeling and excitement of being at an actual Elvis concert.

Nashville Elvis Festival is produced by Tom Brown & Brian Mayes for Music City Festivals, LLC,  and hosted by Tom Brown, a longtime host of select Elvis Week events, one of the hosts of the “Gates of Graceland” web series and the former Vice President of Original Production for Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

For more information including special guests and schedule, please visit the official website at www.NashvilleElvisFestival.com.

Click for tickets.

Happy New Year!

Our goal is to continue creating experiences that connect, enrich, inspire and entertain our patrons, artists and community. We hope you’ll come visit us soon for a magical night of music. Yes, we do believe a little magic happens once you walk through our doors.

Take a look at what’s on the calendar:

Charlie Worsham (1/27) – Tickets

Rodeo & Juliet Featuring Michael Tait Singing the Songs of Nat King Cole (2/2) – Tickets

A.J. Croce (2/3) – Tickets

3rd Annual Grassroots of Grassland (2/9) – Tickets

Exile (2/10) – Tickets

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder (2/15 – 2/16) – Tickets

Suzy Bogguss (2/17) – Tickets

Indigo Girls (2/22) – ON SALE 1/5

Mary Gauthier (2/23) – Tickets

Sierra Hull (2/24) – Tickets

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (3/2) – Tickets

Hal Ketchum (3/3) – Tickets

Charles Esten (3/10) – SOLD OUT

Pam Tillis (3/16) – Tickets

Martin Sexton (4/6) – Tickets

Bruce Cockburn (4/21) – Tickets

For questions and to purchase tickets, please call our Box Office at 615.538.2076 or click on ticket links above. You can also view our full show listing here.

John Tesh

After more than three decades as a world-renowned entertainer and composer, John Tesh’s recording and live concert career continues with his new show “Grand Piano Live” that includes a stop at the Franklin Theatre on Friday, October 27^th at 8pm.

Tesh is a six-time Emmy Award winner, two-time GRAMMY nominee, with three gold records, seven Public Television specials and 8 million records sold who established himself as one of the most prolific and successful composers of the 90s. With 50-plus recordings into his multi-faceted musical and broadcast career, John Tesh’s highly successful and varied career path includes a string of #1 radio hits, 12 years as an investigative journalist, a 10-year run as anchor on Entertainment Tonight, broadcast host and music composer for the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympic Games, and the unique distinction of composing what critics have hailed as, “The greatest sports theme song in television history,” the NBC SPORTS’ NBA Basketball Theme.

The Los Angeles resident also spent the early days of his broadcasting career working as a news anchor at WSM-TV in Nashville.  Tesh said of his upcoming show, “This is really a homecoming for me; anchoring the news with Dan Miller and Pat Sajak; competing for stories against Oprah Winfrey; and watching Steve Martin get his start at the Exit Inn. I can’t wait to get on stage and not only share my songs on piano but also reminisce about my time in the town that shaped my future!”

Whether at the solo piano, with a 12-piece ‘big band’ or an 80-piece orchestra, Tesh’s ability to create a unique journey for concert fans with music and storytelling has taken him from the Red Rocks Amphitheater and the Coliseum in Rome to Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center. John’s live television concerts, including the seminal ‘Live at Red Rocks,’ have raised more than 20 million dollars for Public Television.

Tickets for this one night exclusive engagement are available online at FranklinTheatre.com or by calling the Box Office, 615.538.2076.

“THE SECOND STORY:  A WRITER’S NIGHT REIMAGINED”

July 21 show features Ruby Amanfu, Peter Cooper, Bob DiPiero and Dennis Matkosky

Middle Tennessee is blessed with a remarkable creative community, especially in the realm of songwriting. Many of these great talents are regularly featured in “songwriter rounds” where the actual writers of hit songs not only perform them, but share the story behind the music.

The historic Franklin Theatre has been working on a new twist to the traditional “rounds” to showcase the writers and also weave the talents of other types of writers (authors, poets, playwrights) into the evening. They’re calling the concept “The Second Story.”

According to Franklin Theatre executive director Dan Hays, “The Second Story is a writer’s night ‘reimagined.’ We invite an author to take at least one song from the three featured songwriters that evening and to reimagine the music and words and weave the song from each of them into an entirely new short story. In short, they come up with a ‘second’ story inspired by the songs. The author then tells that story – on stage – and the selected songs are performed and woven into the presentation for the audience.“

The evening also opens up with a traditional “songwriter round” of performances, so there’s plenty of great music from everyone involved.

“Our first two presentations of this concept have been magical evenings. The music has been stellar from the songwriters and the stories created by the authors have mesmerized audiences with wonderful tales and laughter and some wonderful unexpected twists,” says Hays.

On Friday, July 21, “The Second Story” will weave together words and music of these accomplished artists:

Ruby Amanfu: Whether lending vocals to Beyoncé’s album, or writing and performing Grammy-nominated songs, the Ghana-born, Nashville-reared artist has generated a succession of critically acclaimed projects. Her single “Sugah” reached No. 3 on Billboard’s airplay chart in 2003. Songs penned by a variety of acts, including Kelly Clarkson, Lene Nystrom, Sanne Salomonsen, Rachael Lampa, and the Duhks (for which she received Grammy recognition). Ms. Amanfu is also a part-time actor currently appearing as herself on the current season of “Nashville.”

Bob DiPiero: Hall of Fame Songwriter Bob DiPiero is one of Nashville’s most prolific and consistent songwriters with over 1,000 songs recorded by other artists and 15 #1 hits. His songs have been featured in TV shows, commercials and movies and, in 2011, his song “Coming Home” from the Country Strong movie soundtrack was nominated for both an Oscar and Golden Globe Award. Among his countless awards are 50 BMI Million-Air honors and multiple Songwriter of the Year awards.

Dennis Matkosky is the Grammy award-winning, Academy and Golden Globe nominated responsible for such iconic radio smashes as “Maniac” (#1 in 18 countries), “I Need You” (LeAnn Rimes) and “You’ll Think Of Me,” the pop-crossover #1 smash by Keith Urban. From “Flashdance” to Rascal Flatts, he has penned hits for Diana Ross, Boz Scaggs, Smokey Robinson and Kenny G (to name a few).

Peter Cooper: The storyteller for the evening is an author, songwriter, Grammy-nominated musician, a country music historian, and a senior director, producer, and writer at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. His recent book, Johnny’s Cash & Charley’s Pride: Lasting Legends and Untold Adventures in Country Music, was recently released to great acclaim. named one of Nashville’s “10 Most Interesting People” by Nashville Arts & Entertainment magazine. Kris Kristofferson wrote, “Peter Cooper looks at the world with an artist’s eye and a human heart and soul.”

Tickets can be purchased at www.franklintheatre.com or by calling the Box Office at 615-538-2076. Live music shows presented by the Franklin Theatre are sponsored by Jackson National Life.

Franklin, TN (January 26, 2016) Gateway Chamber Orchestra proudly presents Enchanting Tales, 7:30 pm, February 8, at the Franklin Theatre. The Monday evening concert spotlights award-winning composer Jeffrey Wood’s world premiere of Different Bodies. The performance opens with Rossini’s charming Il signor Bruschino Overture, taking the audience through a full spectrum of contrasting musical fables and emotional tales, concluding with Maurice Ravel’s popular Mother Goose, a magical work that tells the story of Sleeping Beauty and other fairy tales.

Inspired by Kenneth Sherman’s book written about the infamous Elephant Man, Different Bodies, features acclaimed baritone, Jeffrey Williams. Composer Wood says, “Sherman’s book gives a personal point of view that allows Joseph Merrick a voice that is at once tragic and ironic: Sherman’s Merrick is a man fully aware of his strange appearance and bizarre life but oddly still able to embrace his peculiar reality.

At the same time, Sherman manages to make this most unusual individual a kind of Everyman: a marginalized person, an outsider looking in; physically unable to be part of the world around him, but ultimately unable to distance himself entirely from it. He contemplates his place in the day to day life of the world around him, trying to understand humanity from his unique perspective as an outsider to that humanity, while at the same time still being a part of it. Sherman’s Elephant Man is more than the sum of Merrick’s life and extraordinary physical appearance: it is a deeply human story.”
Enchanting Tales with Jeffrey Williams, baritone
Monday, February 8, at 7:30 p.m. 
The Franklin Theatre

Giochinno Rossini – Il signor Bruschino Overture
Jeffrey Wood – Different Bodies (world première)
Maurice Ravel – Ma mère l’oye (Mother Goose)

FEBRUARY 8, 2016, Single CONCERT Tickets:
Adults: $25 | $30 | $40 | Student/Active: $15 • $20 • $30
Tickets for February 8 concert: CLICK HERE

 
SPRING SUBSCRIPTION SERIES PRICING (Two concerts*Best Value)
Adults: $40 | $50 | $65
Student/Military: $24 | $32.50 | $50
Two-concert series: Spring Subscriptions are available by phone at (615) 538-2076, and online by clicking HERE. 

Box Office hours: Sunday & Monday, Noon-5:00 pm
Tuesday – Saturday, 11:00 am-6:00 pm
JEFFREY WOOD did his undergraduate work in composition and piano at Oberlin College and graduate work at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he earned Master’s degrees in piano and composition and a Ph.D. in composition, working under Gilbert Kalish and David Lewin.

Wood’s compositions have been performed and recorded throughout the country and have received many awards including those from BMI, ASCAP, as well as the Bates Memorial Prize. He was the highest prizewinner at the Stroud Festival International Competition in Great Britain and was named Distinguished Composer of the Year by the Music Teacher’s National Association. Wood was one of eight composers awarded in the 1995 Young American’s Art Song Competition sponsored by G. Schirmer/Associated Music Publishers. Wood’s oratorio Lamentationes Ieremiæ Prophetæ (Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet)for chorus, soloists and orchestra was premièred at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra. This work was subsequently nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

Wood has held the Individual Artist Fellowship in Composition from the Tennessee Arts Commission and was awarded the Richard M. Hawkins Award for scholarship and creativity by Austin Peay State University. As a pianist Wood has worked with composers such as Roger Sessions, Thea Musgrave, Mario Davidovsky, Frederic Goossen, Alan Hovhaness and Ernst Křenek in performances of their keyboard music. He is presently Professor of Music at Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee.

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The Gateway Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Gregory Wolynec, was formed in 2008 and is recognized as one of the leading new American ensembles. Comprised of professional musicians from Middle Tennessee and beyond, the GCO specializes in presenting traditional masterworks, overlooked treasures, and contemporary American compositions. The GCO’s recordings have received critical acclaim in publications such as the American Record Guide and Fanfare Magazine. Engaging 5,000 Middle Tennessee students annually with classical music through free performances, innovative educational outreach, and interactive Children’s Concerts, the GCO is committed to building new audiences for tomorrow. Visit gatewaychamberorchestra.com to learn more.

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