Mountain Overture is the best of award-winning bluegrass group Balsam Range’s hit songs produced and recorded with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble. As they take the show on the road the feel of the mountains of Western North Carolina are ever-present and enhanced by the wash of the orchestra creating a cocktail of sound that let’s the audience immerse themselves in an atmosphere layered with vocal harmonies, subtle strings and when called for driving rhythms. The music of Balsam Range is storytelling at its finest and enhancing their finest is a unique pairing that evokes the music of the mountains with the age-old genre of orchestral music.
The 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range, has become one of the genre’s most award-winning acts. Since forming in 2007, the group has garnered 13 IBMA awards on the heels of 8 critically acclaimed albums. Balsam Range has left audiences spellbound while headlining major festivals from coast-to-coast, selling out venues across the nation and in multiple appearances at the Grand Ole Opry; including their recent appearance at the Opry in July 2019. The band collaborated with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra to record 2 albums, the second of which, Mountain Overture, debuted on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart at #5 and the Classical Crossover Chart at #6. Balsam Range’s previous outing, Mountain Voodoo, debuted at #4 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums Chart and remained on that chart for 45 weeks. Three singles from that album reached #1 on the Bluegrass Today Chart, including Blue Collar Dreams, which spent three consecutive months at the top.
The current conductor, Dr. Jason Altieri was appointed in 2010 and has brought the Atlanta Pops into a new era with exciting innovative programs and guest artist opportunities that continue to entertain and educate audiences both nationally and internationally. The Pops features a broad range of guest soloists and new talent including Chloe Agnew, of Celtic Woman, John Driskell Hopkins of Zac Brown Band, award winning bluegrass group Balsam Range, and Broadway stars as well as hip –hop artists, blues rockers, beatboxers, and more.
“More than simply a greatest hits collection, Balsam Range’s new album showcases an effective blending of orchestral and folk music.”
As a gathering place for the community and its visitors and as the home of the Maryville College fine and performing arts program, the Clayton Center for the Arts provides opportunities for the lifelong expression and appreciation of the arts.
The Center plays a vital role in enhancing the quality of life, bolstering cultural and economic vitality, strengthening tourism, and expanding the educational offerings for our community and region. The diversity of our community is to be reflected on our stages, in our galleries and in our audiences. Through its relationship to Maryville College, the Center will provide educational opportunities designed to attract and nurture artists of all ages. The programming is of the highest caliber and features the arts from around the world.
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