Contemporary Music
EMF Philharmonic Orchestra
Although steeped in history and tradition, North Carolina is also home to a vibrant array of contemporary music. It will come as no surprise that university-based presenters support the contemporary music scene and provide performance venues for many of its practitioners. East Carolina University's New Music Festival, which premiered in 2001, celebrates "the music of our time" with six concerts, master classes with visiting composers, performers, conductors and reading sessions of student composers' works.
At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Carolina Performing Arts Series presents contemporary performers of American Roots, Urban and World music, along with classical and jazz orchestras and vocalists.
In Raleigh, Arts NC State, a campus-wide cultural arts program, presents the Center Stage series, featuring world music and jazz. In Durham, Duke Performances on the Duke University campus presents an annual series that includes contemporary jazz, classical and world music. The St. Joseph's Historic Foundation produces the Bull Durham Blues Festival, North Carolina's largest blues celebration, attracting fans from over 175 North Carolina cities, 25 states and five countries. Asheville's Diana Wortham Theatre and Charlotte's Blumenthal Center for the Performing Arts present annual music series featuring contemporary folk, jazz, Celtic and World performers. For more than 40 years, the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro has featured contemporary Grammy-winning musical performers in its lineup.
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