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An Appalachian Summer Festival Online Hits the Home Stretch, July 21 – Aug. 1

National Players presents As You Like It

Entering its final stretch, the all-virtual monthlong incarnation of Appalachian State University’s annual summer arts event, An Appalachian Summer Festival, presents visual artist showcases, award-winning films, classic theatre with a modern spin, a popular sculpture walk, and a variety of livestreamed music ranging from orchestral and classical to standards and bluegrass. All events are free. The all-virtual festival runs daily through July 31. Take your seat at appsummeronline.org.

 

Weicholz Global Film Series:

Corpus Christi

Tuesday, July 21 | 7-9pm

Registration Required

‘Sold’ Out

Twenty-year-old reformed criminal Daniel is prevented from applying to the seminary after his release, so he dresses as a priest and ministers a small-town parish. Though he has no training, his passion and charisma inspire the community. At the same time, his unconventional sermons and unpriestly behavior raise suspicions among some of the townsfolk — even more so as he edges towards a dark secret that the community hasn’t revealed in the confessional booth. Poland; Not Rated; Directed by Jan Komasa (2019); 115 minutes; in Polish with English subtitles

 

Exhibition Showcase Series:

Afterimage Anxiety with Joshua Rose

Wednesday, July 22 | 2-2:05pm

A quick look at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts exhibition 

Joshua Rose considers this series of work his autobiography, calling it “my studio landscape, a collection of old roads to be re-investigated and re-asserted through re-engagement. It is from this body of drawings, paintings and photographs that I mine the past, manipulate, combine and recombine images and materials to make new work that functions in the present. It is a look at my night sky.”

 

Live from Rosen Concert Hall:

Appalachian State Symphony Orchestra: Rite of Spring

Thursday, July 23 | 7-8pm

Live Stream Event! Tune in for this one-time only broadcast.

…featuring a conversation with Dr. Mélisse Brunet moderated by Dr. James Douthit, Dean of the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University; live streamed from Rosen Concert Hall on the campus of App State. Visit our YouTube channel to comment and share your thoughts throughout the event.

Enjoy a live chat with Parisian-born conductor (and Hayes School of Music professor) Dr. Mélisse Brunet, and Dr. Douthit, as they discuss and reflect upon an encore performance of Appalachian Symphony Orchestra’s February 2020 concert of Igor Stravinksy’s exciting masterwork, Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring).

 

Center Stage:

National Players presents As You Like It

Friday, July 24 | 7-9pm

Registration required; special recording available through Sunday, July 26 at 6pm

National Players, America’s longest-running theatre company, puts a modern spin on this exclusive recorded preview performance of Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy As You Like It, a classic romantic comedy about gender roles, losing oneself, and discovering oneself anew. National Players melds classic language with contemporary staging of this imaginative tale about city folk venturing into the woods.

 

In the Spotlight:

Rosen Sculpture Walk with the Juror: Virtual Tour

Saturday, July 25 | 10am-10:15am

The Rosen Sculpture Competition and Exhibition is an annual national juried competition presented by the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University, bringing an array of contemporary sculpture to campus each season. This year, weather is not a concern for the outdoor event, as competition juror Rachel Stevens takes viewers on a virtual tour of several of the new sculptures from this year’s competition. In July 2021, the awards announcement and reception will be featured as part of the festival season. A map of the sculptures will be available soon on the Turchin Center website so patrons can walk the actual grounds and enjoy close-up look at the celebrated pieces.

 

Broyhill Chamber Series Sneak Peek:

Emerson String Quartet

Sunday, July 26 | 2-3pm

This special preview and conversation with the chamber ensemble is scheduled in conjunction with the planned appearance by Emerson String Quartet as part of An Appalachian Summer Festival’s 2021 season.

Named for American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Emerson String Quartet has maintained its status as one of the world’s premier chamber music ensembles for more than four decades. “With musicians like this,” wrote a reviewer for The Times (London), “there must be some hope for humanity.” The quartet has made more than 30 acclaimed recordings, and has been honored with nine Grammys® (including two for Best Classical Album), three Gramophone Awards, the Avery Fisher Prize, and Musical America’s “Ensemble of the Year” award.

 

Behind the Scenes:

#TCVAatHome: Student Artist Feature: Hannah Hagler

Monday, July 27 | 2-2:15pm

Appalachian State University Students are the heart of the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. A team of outstanding student staff assist with gallery installations, education, safety and visitor services. This behind-the-scenes video features Studio Art major Brooke Drury, providing a glimpse into how her studio practice is continuing off campus and how working as a Turchin Center gallery ambassador has influenced her as an artist and impacted her experience at Appalachian State.

 

Weicholz Global Film Series:

Honeyland

Tuesday, July 28 | 7-8:30pm

Registration Required

‘Sold’ Out

Shot over the course of three years, the documentary Honeyland follows an uneducated female Macedonian beekeeper who deals with a variety of environmental problems, including climate change, the loss of biodiversity, and the exploitation and depletion of natural resources, as well as issues related to consumerism, rural flight, and troublesome nomadic Turkish refugees squatting on the adjacent property. Republic of Macedonia; not rated; Directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov (2019); 89 minutes; in Turkish, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian and Bosnian with English subtitles

 

Exhibition Showcase Series:

Rain and the River: Jacklyn St. Aubyn

Wednesday, July 29 | 2-2:05pm

A quick look at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts exhibition 

At the heart of Jacklyn St. Aubyn’s teaching and studio work lies a desire to illuminate life through the process of seeing. According to the artist, “The moment I put brush to panel, a transformation takes place. The colors and shapes create a tactile song filled with rhythms and melodies. Objects and images express poetic thoughts. Unspoken revelations appear. The process is meditative and calming. I am drawing from a consciousness that is hidden somewhere within me. The veil of my familiar thinking gives way to freedom of mind. This is the psychic space of painting.”

 

Live from Rosen Concert Hall:

What the World Needs Now: An Evening of Love Songs with Todd Wright & Friends

Thursday, July 30 | 7-8pm

Live Stream Event! Tune in for this one-time only broadcast.

Live streamed from Rosen Concert Hall on the campus of Appalachian State University.

Visit our YouTube channel to comment and share your thoughts throughout the event.

Join saxophonist Todd Wright, Director of Jazz Studies in App State’s Hayes School of Music, and moderator Dr. James Douthit, Dean of HSOM, as they relive and discuss an evening of much-needed love songs from Todd Wright & Friends’ Feb. 12, 2020 Rosen Concert Hall performance.

 

Center Stage:

Greetings from Wilkesboro with the Kruger Brothers

Friday, July 31 | 7-8pm

Live Stream Event! Tune in for this one-time only broadcast.

Live streamed from the bluegrass/new American folk trio’s remodeled studio in Wilkesboro, NC.

Visit our YouTube channel to comment and share your thoughts throughout the event. 

Since their formal introduction to American audiences in 1997, the Kruger Brothers’ remarkable discipline, creativity and their ability to infuse classical music into folk music has resulted in a unique sound that has made them a fixture within the world of acoustic music. The honesty of their writing has since become a hallmark of the Wilkesboro, NC-based trio’s work. In their ever-expanding body of work, the Kruger Brothers — Jens Kruger (banjo and vocals), Uwe Kruger (guitar and lead vocals), and Joel Landsberg (bass and vocals) — personify the spirit of exploration and innovation that forms the core of the American musical tradition.

 

In the Spotlight:

Appalachian Summer Festival 2021 Season Announcement

Saturday, August 1 | Noon

After enjoying this season’s virtual sneak peek at just some of the talented artists who will take the Schaefer Center and Rosen Concert Hall stages next summer in Boone, tune in for an announcement of the line-up for the highly anticipated 2021 season, which features some of the best in stage, screen, and music.

 

Questions?

All events are free and can be accessed via the website. For a complete line-up and details, visit appsummeronline.org or call the box office at 800-841-2787.

Box Office hours through July 31:

Mon & Wed 9am-4pm; Tue, Thu & Fri 9am-8pm; Sat 5-8pm; Sun Noon-3pm 

 

About An Appalachian Summer Festival:

Presented by Appalachian State University’s Office of Arts & Cultural Programs, this annual celebration of the performing and visual arts is held every July in venues across the university campus, and features an eclectic, diverse mix of music, dance, theatre, visual arts and film programming. An Appalachian Summer Festival began in 1984 as a chamber music series, and retains strong roots in classical music, combined with a variety of other programming geared to almost every artistic taste and preference. With an audience of 27,000, the festival has been named one of the “Top Twenty Events in the Southeast” by the Southeast Tourism Society in recent years.

This year’s pivot from an in-person to online festival was created in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the cancellation of live events for the first time in festival history. App Summer, which typically draws more than 27,000 visitors to the High Country each summer, presents its 36th season of special programming daily through July 31 with a mix of livestreamed and specially pre-recorded concerts, live chats with artists, film screenings, and virtual tours. Every day features a diverse selection of music, dance, theatre, film, and visual arts.

 

Festival Corporate Sponsors:

Westglow Resort and Spa, McDonald’s of Boone, Mast General Store, Goodnight Brothers, Boone Area Visitors Bureau, Sky Best Communications, Wells Fargo, Appalachian Home Care, PNC Bank, Peak Insurance, Scholars Bookshop at the University Bookstore, Holiday Inn Express-Boone, Courtyard by Marriott, Peabody’s Wine & Beer Merchants, Chetola Resort, and Creekside Electronics 

 

Festival Media Sponsors:

WBTV, WCYB, UNC TV, Spectrum Reach, Our State Magazine, Creative Loafing Charlotte, Yes! Weekly, Winston-Salem Journal, Greensboro News & Record, WNC Magazine, Mountain Times, Watauga Democrat, High Country Radio, WHKY AM 1290, WDAV 89.9FM, WFDD 88.5FM and WASU 90.5FM.

Emerson String Quartet; Photo credits Jurgen Frank
Jacklyn St. Aubyn; Cherry Universe
Rosen Sculpture Walk
Kruger Brothers