Appalachian music, stories theme of Lee concert tonight

Poems, folk tunes and stories of Appalachia will be the theme of a 7:30 p.m. concert tonight, Feb. 22, the next in the Lee University Performing Arts Series.

The concert will feature guest soprano Jacqueline Culpepper. She will perform seven songs from “The Appalachian Songbook” by Kenneth Frazelle. The concert will be held in Squires Recital Hall in the Humanities Building, 1250 Parker St., Cleveland, Tenn.

Phillip Bush, pianist, will play songs by Frazelle, and Linda Edwards Campbell will read poems by Kay Stripling Byer, who served as North Carolina’s Poet Laureate from 2005 to 2009.

In 1988, Frazelle began to compose formal pieces based on the Southern Appalachian folk music he had heard throughout his life. The tunes upon which these pieces were based were entrenched in Scottish- I rish t raditions of this family, which had resided in Onslow County, N.C., for three centuries.

Culpepper, artist associate of voice at Davidson College, has sung with symphony orchestras, opera companies and music festivals across the U. S. She has additionally performed in Europe, South America, Central America, the Caribbean and Asia. She has more than 85 credits in opera and oratorio, and performed solo concert tours throughout the world with American Voices, a nonprofit organization whose mission has been to further the appreciation and understanding of American music and culture.

Culpepper will hold a masterclass on Friday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m. in Squires Recital Hall. It is open to the public.

Tickets for the concert are complimentary, but are required due to limited seating. They are available by calling 423614-8343. Tickets are also available at www. showclix. com/event/ jacquelyn-culpepper.

Jacqueline Culpepper