More news from the Americana Music Festival and Conference- more good opportunities!

It seems that each year a good number of people have been coming to the Americana Music Festival and Conference earlier and earlier... and Americana events are taking place all over town. This year, we thought we would present our own 'early bird' offering; The Americana Music Association and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra proudly present, An Evening of Classical Americana at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Saturday September 12. Official Press Release is below.



If you were planning to attend the Americana Music Festival and Conference starting on September 16th, think about coming in a few days early. And for those of you who live here, Classical Americana it is a must see event. Although it’s not officially part of the Festival and Conference, I think we now can assuredly call it Americana Week here in Music City,



Thanks to all of you for your support, your community spirit and your hard work to make the Americana Music Festival and Conference truly the coolest event of the year. Planning is coming along nicely and we will be making some more important announcements shortly... Register NOW and stay tuned!



Looking forward to seeing you all soon.



Jed





Alison Brown, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Byron House,

Buddy Miller, Karen Parks, Abigail Washburn

Join Nashville Symphony In

‘Classical Americana’ Concert Sept. 12 at Schermerhorn



First-ever collaboration between Symphony and Americana Music

Association explores links between classical and roots music



Nashville, Tenn. (July 15, 2009) As part of the opening gala weekend inaugurating the Nashville Symphony’s 2009/10 concert season, the Nashville Symphony is teaming up with the Americana Music Association for a one-of-a-kind musical event on Sept. 12, 2009 at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. This innovative concert, which will explore the strong links between classical music and American roots music, features a stellar list of guest performers, including Alison Brown, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Byron House, Buddy Miller, Karen Parks and Abigail Washburn. They will join the orchestra, led by Resident Conductor Albert-George Schram, to honor the rich weave of our country’s musical traditions — everything from blues and gospel to Aaron Copland and George Gershwin.



“This concert will illustrate the amazing connection between roots music and classical music that goes back generations,” said Jed Hilly, Executive Director of the Americana Music Association, which promotes awareness of Americana music and supports the creative and economic viability of Americana artists. “Some of the best-known classical composers, from Dvořak to Copland, have long used roots music as a foundation for composition.”



Classical Americana, a First Tennessee Special Event, is partly arranged into segments, each introduced by a narrator. A unique feature of the program is that a particular musician will present a traditional version of a familiar work, such as “Simple Gifts,” “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” or “When the Saints Go Marching In,” which then will be followed by the full orchestra performing a well-known classical composition that makes use of that original.



The guest artist roster is a who’s who of top-flight Americana talent.

Headliners include Buddy Miller, the celebrated guitarist and noted singer-songwriter who has won more Americana Awards than any other artist. Grammy-winning, IBMA Instrumentalist of the Year Alison Brown is a progressive banjoist. A founding member of the influential New Grass Revival, mandolinist Sam Bush is one of acoustic music’s most respected figures, while Jerry Douglas is easily the world’s best-known Dobro player. Byron House adds the unique and acclaimed versatility that has made him one of the top bass players in the country. Soprano Karen Parks recently released a critically acclaimed collection of operatic spirituals, and vocalist Abigail Washburn is also a cross-genre banjoist who has collaborated with Béla Fleck.



The idea for this groundbreaking collaboration came from a casual conversation some months ago between Hilly and Alan D. Valentine, President and CEO of the Nashville Symphony. “We were former classmates in Leadership Music,” Valentine explained, “and one day we started talking about how magical it would be to bring together some fantastic Americana artists with the Nashville Symphony. The essential connections between these musical genres are amazing, as this concert will amply demonstrate.”





For ticket information, please call the Symphony Center Box Office at 615.687.6400 or go on-line to NashvilleSymphony.org.