The McLain Family Band announces a collaboration with Symphony of the Mountains as part of their 50th anniversary tour.
Direct from the hills of Kentucky, The McLain Family Band have become internationally known as one of the most spontaneous, creative, and spirited groups performing traditional and original Appalachian bluegrass music.
They have performed in all 50 states and 64 countries during 15 international concert tours, often as musical ambassadors for the U.S. Department of State. The McLain Family Band have performed on prestigious stages around the world including the Grand Ole Opry, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Lincoln Center, and the Carter Fold. They have been featured at thousands of festivals and concerts and performed as soloists in more than 230 appearances with orchestras.
Started in 1946, the Symphony of the Mountains has provided musical enrichment including classical concerts, entertaining pops and light musical offerings, captivating soloists, and empowering opportunities for young musicians. Music Director and Conductor, Cornelia Laemmli Orth is in her twelfth season with Symphony of the Mountains and is an advocate for Contemporary Music. Orth has worked with various orchestras including Brevard Philharmonic, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and the Knoxville Symphony, among others.
These concerts will feature the “Concerto for Bluegrass Band and Orchestra” written by renowned composer, Phillip Rhodes. The Concerto was the first major work of its kind and was written specifically for the McLain Family Band.
Concert Information:
Friday, Nov. 16 @ 7:00pm - 9:00pm at the J.W. Adams Combined School in Pound, VA
Saturday, Nov. 17 @ 7:30pm - 9:30pm at the Woodrow W. McGlothlin Center for the Arts in Emory, VA
Sunday, Nov. 18 @ 3:00pm – 5:00pm at the Toy F. Reid Eastman Employee Center in Kingsport, TN
To purchase tickets and for more information about The McLain Family Band concerts with the Symphony of the Mountains, please visit symphonyofthemountains.org.
“A joyous celebration of Americana.”
- The Washington Post
“The McLain Family Band offered an attractive mixture of old favorites and originals. Their instrumental and vocal arrangements were consistently fresh.”
- New York Times
“Truly remarkable! Fluent on any number of instruments, the McLain’s played and sang with an intensity and ferocious energy that was instantly captivating and which quickly found its way into the hearts of the crowd who had thronged to hear them.”
- The Calgary Herald
“The Concerto for Bluegrass Band and Orchestra: the mixture of bluegrass with symphony seems to this listener every bit as exciting and original as the fusion between jazz and symphonic music in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Don’t miss it.
- Stephen Wigler, the Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY
“This was all delighful, but the real masterpiece of the evening was Phillip Rhode’s Concerto for Bluegrass Band and Orchestra. Rhodes managed to put bluegrass in an orchestral setting without denying its integrity.”
- James Reel, the Arizona Daily Star