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Kingsport Times-News
November 25, 2003
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra to perform in Lee County
By WALTER LITTRELL
JONESVILLE - Thanks to a Slemp Foundation grant, the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra will soon be conducting workshops for Lee County band students as well as giving a free public Christmas performance at Lee High School.
"Music has always been a wonderful way to evoke the holiday spirit, and this concert is a great opportunity to celebrate with friends and family," said Mark C. Hanson, executive director of the KSO. "There's nothing like hearing your holiday favorites performed live by some of the best professional musicians in the region."
Eleanor Chadwell, director of elementary education for the Lee County school system, encouraged everyone to attend the free performance to show their appreciation to the foundation.
"This is one of the few cultural events we have in Lee County, and everyone - no matter where they're from - is welcome to attend," said Chadwell. "We really appreciate the folks at the Slemp Foundation, and we want to show them our appreciation. We'd like to have a packed house."
This will mark the orchestra's first Christmas performance in Lee County.
Although the foundation has awarded grants in the past for the performances, Lee Countians have helped fund the popular event on their own in years past, Chadwell said.
In addition to giving the performance, she added, KSO members will visit Lee High, Thomas Walker, Pennington Middle and Jonesville Middle to work in teams with musically talented students at those schools. Elementary students from the feeder schools will also be taken to the other schools for instruction from orchestra members, Chadwell said.
The Dec. 11 program at Lee High will begin at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Cornelia Laemmli, KSO assistant conductor, will lead the orchestra in a diverse program that features several carols.
The KSO consists of 84 professional musicians under the leadership of Maestro Lucas Richman. The orchestra gives more than 250 performances yearly to a total audience of more than 160,000 throughout the region. The KSO is recognized as one of the finest musical ensembles of its size in the United States.
Copyright 2003 Kingsport Times-News. All rights reserved.
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