Charlotte Symphony Gives History Lesson at the Abbey “ Mill Village ” to Highlight ‘Arts at the Abbey’ Concert Series
BELMONT, NC --- If you ever wondered what life in the Charlotte area was like when the milling industry was thriving, you’ll soon find out.
Audiences will get the chance to re-live local history through music when the Charlotte Symphony Ensemble performs Mill Village: A Piedmont Rhapsody, Sunday, April 2, 2006 at 2:00 PM in the Abbey Basilica at Belmont Abbey College. The concert is part of the Arts at the Abbey concert series. The event is free and open to the public.
Through his original score, composer David Crowe tells the stories of the mills and people of the Piedmont region in a multi-media chamber music piece. A chief source of inspiration for this project was the Orchestra’s principal tuba player, David Mills, who grew up in Albemarle, N.C. and worked in the area’s mills as a young man.
The Mill Community Project is an audience-development effort that has involved professional development workshops on story collecting; an oral history event; and appearances in tandem with the Levine Museum of the New South, The Light Factory, The Mint Museums, the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, The Gaston County Historic Preservation Committee, and the Southwide Cotton Mill Reunion & Convention.
Many artifacts and artwork that either came from mill communities or reflected these communities had been collected. The final outcome of the Mill Community Project was Mill Village: A Piedmont Rhapsody, an original chamber work created by local composer David Crowe, which continues to be performed by a Charlotte Symphony Chamber Orchestra for the mill communities and the community at-large. The work is accompanied by lecture demonstrations, panel discussions, and other types of presentations involving poetry, video, photography, and examples of textiles.
The Mill Community Project is sponsored by the North Carolina Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. The project is a part of Smart Connections, a partnership of the Public Library of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, The Mint Museums, and the Charlotte Symphony.
Ranked one of the best comprehensive colleges in the Southeast by U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review, Belmont Abbey College celebrates excellence and virtue steeped in its 129-year Catholic Benedictine heritage. The liberal arts College is home to students from over 28 states and 11 countries and welcomes everyone from any background or tradition committed to this vision of excellence and virtue. The campus consists of the College, the Monastery and the Abbey Basilica, which can be found on its sprawling 650 acres of picturesque landscape.
Just minutes from Charlotte, NC, the nation’s second largest banking center, Belmont Abbey College offers students numerous internship opportunities and career placement.
The College believes in development of the whole person – mind, body and spirit. By offering a wide array of clubs and activities including Division II athletics, theatre, publications, and study abroad, Belmont Abbey College invests in the personal growth of its students.
Founded in 1876, the College celebrates its heritage and is inspired by the Benedictine monastic tradition. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the College and Abbey Basilica greet thousands of visitors each year.
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