SPRING FOURTH with the Blue Ridge Orchestra's lively 2023-24 finale. The BRO celebrated the return of spring with the first and fourth movements of Schumann's Spring Symphony, Beethoven's Fourth Symphony, and the first movement of Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B minor, with Franklin Keel, violoncellist, and conductor Milton Crotts.

Spring Fourth featured works by Schumann, Dvorak, and Beethoven, three of the world’s greatest classical composers, chosen by BRO Music Director Milton Crotts to commemorate the season.

The program began with the first and fourth movements of Robert Schumann’s majestic Symphony No. 1 – “Spring” – written in 1841, and reflective of the composer’s joyful optimism at that time of his life. Asheville’s own Franklin Keel performed the first movement, Allegro, from Anton Dvorak’s beloved Cello Concerto in B Minor, known for the lyrical solo part and the richness of the orchestral accompaniment. The program closed with Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Fourth” – his irresistible Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major – a lively, cheerful contrast to many of his better-known works.

The Blue Ridge Orchestra has been making fine music accessible to audiences across WNC for upwards of two decades. Comprised of over fifty talented local musicians who volunteer their time to practice, rehearse, and perform, the BRO has presented concerts not only in Asheville, but in Canton, Swannanoa, Black Mountain, and Clyde. Under the leadership of Milton Crotts, the orchestra has become known for its imaginative, inventive, and invigorating performances.

Photo Credit: Kathy Kmonicek

BRO Music Director Milton Crotts and Opera Theatre Director David Holley hosted an evening of elegant opera music including selections from Mozart’s comedic masterpiece The Impresario, “Chi il bel sogno” from Puccini’s La Rondine, and “Morro, ma prima in grazia” from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera about the assassination of Swedish King Gustav III. The program featured iconic songs sung by the title characters of three beloved French operas: Bizet's Carmen sings the defiant and challenging “Habanera”; Massenet's Manon performs her celebratory “Gavotte”; Lakme and her servant girl Mallika sing the hauntingly beautiful “Flower Duet” by Leo Delibes. The emotional tenor aria “La Serenata”, the "Intermezzo" from Cavalleria Rusticana, and the "Meditation" from Thais were among the many other highlights of these intimate concerts.

Musique Ménage was generously sponsored by Souther Williams Vineyard and Whistle Hop Brewing Company.

Photo Credit: Kathy Kmonicek

The Blue Ridge Orchestra welcomed the winter holidays with two performances of BRO Revels! 2023, featuring Seth Walker and The Walker Family Band. This program also highlighted The Nutcracker Suite while introducing harpist Tori Parrish. Presented at 3:00 pm in Charles M. Beall Auditorium, Haywood Community College, on Saturday, December 9th, and in the Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church on Sunday, December 10th, the program was an eclectic mix of old and new, familiar and surprising.

BRO Revels! 2023 was generously sponsored by Mosaic Community Lifestyle Realty.

Photo Credit: Kathy Kmonicek

"The Well-Tempered Wizard"
From the opening chords of Bach’s celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D Minor to the closing strains from the score of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Music Director Milton Crotts designed a program that evokes the spirit of Halloween. Works from the classical music world—Mozart’s Don Giovanni Overture, Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre, and Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King—are complemented with selections from Broadway’s Wicked and The Phantom of the Opera. Photo Credit: Kathy Kmonicek

Milton Crotts, conductor
Emily Schaad, Guest Conductor

The BRO wrapped up this ‘22-’23 season with a program paying homage to the incomparable Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart! We joined the 2023 Asheville Amadeus Festival as we highlighted one of his works, Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat, K. 364, with violinist Rachel Handman and violist Emily Schaad.

In keeping with the Americana theme, the second half of the program featured the BRO Winds performing classic works by several of the best-known American composers. 

"Musique Ménage" translates from French as "household of music."
In partnership with Fancy and the Gentlemen, the BRO combined Americana and Classical genres under the baton of Music Director, Milton Crotts. Patrons enjoyed two afternoons of intimate music and variety for the ear. Photo by Kathy Kmonicek.

The Blue Ridge Orchestra continued its 2022-2023 Season with its annual highlight of BRO Revels! This year, the program celebrated Engelbert Humperdinck’s fairy tale opera, Hansel & Gretel, on December 3rd and 4th, in Lipinsky Auditorium on the campus of UNC Asheville. For this concert presentation, the BRO was honored to share the stage with UNC Greensboro’s Opera Theatre courtesy of David Holley, Director of Opera.

The Blue Ridge Orchestra started off the new season with "Senza Surprise"! The Blue Ridge Orchestra began the new season with "Senza Surprise"! This concert highlighted Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony. Audience members were happily surprised to hear a group of young, talented, local violin students present the famous melody.

The BRO also featured clarinetists Dr. Jonathan Salter and Justin Landry in Mendelssohn's Concert Piece No. 2 in D Minor, Opus 114. It came as no surprise that this weekend would set the bar high for an ambitious season.

How do you have a holiday concert in a pandemic? For BRO Revels! 2020, small groups of volunteer musicians formed “player pods” that met over 4 Wednesday evenings at Wortham Center for the Performing Arts to rehearse and record some favorite holiday tunes, masked when possible, distanced when not.

The Blue Ridge Orchestra’s hallmark holiday concert series returns, again marrying the beloved and the unexpected for a boisterous wintertime treat that rings in the holiday season!

The BRO’s 2019 season opener celebrated three notable young German masters of the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras with masterpieces they composed in their 30s.

The Blue Ridge Orchestra's 2019 Season Finale featured Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," conducted by BRO bassoonist Mary Thomas, as well as his "Concerto for Clarinet," conducted by Milton Crotts and featuring BRO's own principal clarinet Gary Spaulding in the soloist role. The entire symphony joined in for Brahms' stirring Symphony No. 2, a fitting way to close out the season!

Mostly Mozart, a prequel to the 2019 Asheville Amadeus Festival, featured Blue Ridge Orchestra’s own Bradford Malbon (principal flute) and Hobart Whitman (principal horn) stepping up as soloists in this intimate chamber concert.

The Blue Ridge Orchestra presented "Eleven Eleven: Remembering Armistice" to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of Armistice.

This concert was sponsored by Ingles Markets.

Held Friday and Saturday, July 27 – 28 and August 3 – 4, from 8 to 10 p.m. in the Arboretum’s Outdoor Events Amphitheater, Summer Lights featured the BRO Symphonic Winds and a customized, synchronized light show.

Blue Ridge Orchestra's season finale celebrates North American music

2017’s Revels is an exciting blend of traditional and contemporary music, with something for everyone. Sing along to beloved carols! Hear the dances from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, "Carol of the Bells" featuring Carolina Day School student Zaria Joyner on electric guitar, and lots of holiday favorites including (of course!) Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride."