Greenville News

Paul Hyde, phyde@greenvillenews.com 10:34 a.m. EDT June 8, 2015

Renowned conductor Keith Lockhart, a frequent visitor to Greenville, will present an admission-free concert with the Brevard Music Center orchestra on Sunday, June 28 at 3 p.m. at the Peace Center.

The orchestra, which consists of top-notch student musicians from around the country, will be joined by cello soloist Cicely Parnas.

The program will include Dvořák’s “In Nature’s Realm,” Khachaturian’s Cello Concerto, Kodály’s “Dances of Galanta” and Janáček’s “Sinfonietta.”

Tickets are free but must be reserved through the Peace Center at 864-467-3000 or online at www.peacecenter.org.

Lockhart, a Furman University graduate and longtime conductor of the Boston Pops, is an alumnus of the Brevard Music Center himself and serves as its artistic director and principal conductor.

Lockhart has conducted nearly every major orchestra in North America and other prominent orchestras throughout the world.

As conductor of the Boston Pops for 20 years, Lockhart has led more than 1,600 concerts and made 76 television appearances. In 2010, Lockhart was appointed principal conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Rising American cellist Cicely Parnas has been recognized by The New York Times for bringing “velvety sound, articulate passagework and keen imagination” to her performances.

She was named an inaugural Young Artist in Residence on NPR’s Performance Today in 2011, won the 2012 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and holds the Anne and George Popkin Cello Chair of Young Concert Artists. She was the recipient of the Mortimer Levitt Career Development Award for Women Artists in 2012.

Greenville News arts writer Paul Hyde will present a free pre-concert talk one hour before the Peace Center performance.

The concert is sponsored by the Peace Center and Brevard Music Center. Additional sponsorship support is provided by Mast General Store.