Arts

FSO ends Season with music, memories, new beginning

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Tuesday, 07 April 2026

Written by Sheila D. Barker

The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra will bring its 2025–2026 season to a powerful and emotional close on Saturday, April 18, with a special performance at Huff Concert Hall on the campus of Methodist University. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and the concert will begin at 7:30 p.m., offering audiences an evening that celebrates both cinematic brilliance and classical tradition.
This final concert, titled John Williams and His Influences, also marks a significant moment of transition for the orchestra as it bids farewell to longtime Music Director Stefan Sanders after nine impactful years. Under Sanders’ leadership, the FSO has grown artistically and deepened its connection to the community, making this performance both a tribute and a turning point.
The evening’s program highlights the legendary work of John Williams, one of the most celebrated film composers of all time. Known for his collaborations with director Steven Spielberg, Williams has created unforgettable scores for films such as Jaws, Star Wars, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The concert will feature E.T. Adventures on Earth and a thrilling Star Wars Symphony, giving audiences a chance to experience these iconic soundtracks performed live.
In addition to Williams’ music, the program will explore the composers who influenced his signature style. Selections include the Meistersinger Overture by Richard Wagner, Mars from The Planets by Gustav Holst, The Birth of Kije by Sergei Prokofiev, and The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky. Together, these works create a rich musical journey that connects the grandeur of classical composition with the cinematic storytelling audiences know and love.
Beyond the music, the evening will also offer a glimpse into the future of the orchestra. During the concert, the FSO will publicly announce the four finalists being considered to succeed Sanders as music director. Each candidate will conduct the orchestra during the 2026–2027 season, which marks the FSO’s 70th anniversary. Audience feedback will play an important role in the final selection, making the community an active participant in shaping the orchestra’s next chapter.
Executive Director Jessica Munch-Dittmar expressed enthusiasm for the event, noting that the concert is both a celebration of Sanders’ legacy and an exciting step forward. The upcoming season promises to continue the orchestra’s tradition of dynamic programming and high-quality performances.
“We are excited to welcome audiences for our upcoming John Williams Concert,” remarked Munch-Dittmar. “Maestro Sanders has made a tremendous impact on our orchestra and our community, and this concert will be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate his leadership and artistry while enjoying the iconic music of John Williams. As we look ahead, we’re equally thrilled to share our newly announced season, which reflects the energy, creativity, and exceptional performances our audiences have come to expect from the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra.”
Tickets for the April 18 concert are available online at https://www.fayettevillesymphony.org, by calling the FSO office at 910-433-4690, or at the door on the day of the performance. Discounts are offered for seniors, military members, and Cumberland County Schools employees. The concert is supported in part by the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, the North Carolina Arts Council, Fayetteville Public Works Commission, and Cape Fear Valley Health.
As the final notes of the season echo through Huff Concert Hall, the evening promises to honor the past, celebrate the present, and set the stage for an exciting future for the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. The Huff Concert Hall is located at Methodist University, at 140 Robert Johnson Drive.

(Photo: Stefan Sanders, Music Director)

An Evening with Cross Creek Chorale at Trinity Episcopal

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Tuesday, 17 March 2026

Written by Amanda Ransom

Music has a unique way of bringing people together, and the upcoming Evening with the Cross Creek Chorale at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church promises an evening that will do just that.
On Saturday, March 21, the Cumberland Choral Arts will showcase the Cross Creek Chorale, a select chamber ensemble drawn from the organization’s larger chorus. The result is a performance designed to be both intimate and musically rich, offering audiences a chance to experience the power of choral music up close.
According to Curt Kinzey, Artistic Director for Cumberland Choral Arts, the upcoming concert was carefully designed to appeal to a wide audience while still highlighting the artistry and versatility of the ensemble.
“Audiences can look forward to a vibrant and eclectic program,” Kinzey said. “We’ve chosen music that spans centuries and styles, from the intricate beauty of Renaissance-style religious motets to contemporary art songs inspired by the theme of water. We’re also including recognizable favorites from Broadway and the silver screen, so there is truly something for everyone.”
While the program moves through a variety of musical eras and genres, the selections are connected by a deeper theme: the shared human experience.
“Our goal is to take the audience on a journey that inspires and entertains,” Kinzey explained. “Each section of the program highlights a different emotional perspective, reminding us of the common experiences that connect us all.”
The repertoire itself reflects a balance between familiar favorites and fresh material. Some selections revisit highlights from previous Cumberland Choral Arts concerts, while others introduce new pieces that challenge the ensemble and showcase the capabilities of a smaller vocal group.
Among the works Kinzey is particularly excited about is Johannes Brahms’ Geistliches Lied, Op. 30, a piece widely admired within the choral world for both its beauty and its technical brilliance.
“It is a true marvel of choral literature,” Kinzey said. “To the listener, it sounds serene and effortless, but the structure behind it is incredibly complex. Brahms wrote it as a strict double canon at the ninth, which means there are two simultaneous canons moving between the voice parts. It’s an extraordinary example of craftsmanship hidden beneath music that feels humble and comforting.”
Performing a piece like this highlights the strength of the Cross Creek Chorale as a chamber ensemble. While all its members also perform with the larger Cumberland Choral Arts chorus, this smaller group allows singers to explore repertoire that requires greater precision, agility, and vocal independence.
“Cross Creek Chorale is a select, auditioned ensemble,” Kinzey explained. “Working in a smaller group allows us to tackle music that demands a higher level of detail and focus. Every voice matters, and each singer plays an essential role in shaping the overall sound.”
“When everything aligns, tuning, rhythm, and expression, there is a kind of magic that happens,” Kinzey said. “It creates a performance that feels incredibly focused and emotionally cohesive.”
The concert also highlights the continued importance of community choral music in Cumberland County. Organizations like Cumberland Choral Arts provide opportunities for people from many backgrounds to come together through music while also offering audiences meaningful live cultural experiences.
“Choral music is a powerful bridge-builder,” Kinzey said. “It brings people together for a shared purpose and reminds us of our common humanity. In a world where so much of our entertainment happens through screens, there is something truly special about hearing voices blend together in the same space.” For those who may be attending their first choral concert, Kinzey offers a simple invitation. “There is something primal and powerful about the sound of human voices singing together,” he said. “Come experience it. It’s not just a concert it’s an opportunity to unplug, listen, and leave feeling more connected.”
With its diverse repertoire, intimate setting, and talented ensemble, the Cross Creek Chorale concert promises an evening where music tells stories, emotions resonate, and audiences are reminded of the enduring power of the human voice.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $5 for students and can be purchased at https://bit.ly/4dgtJkv. The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, located at 1601 Raeford Rd.

(Photo: The Cross Creek Chorale performs during Cumberland Choral Arts' Broadway show in 2024. The smaller chorale is an audition group within CCA. Photo courtesy of Sandy Cage, CCA)

Beyond the blanket brigade: Quilting as art, voice, community

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Tuesday, 31 March 2026

Written by Sara Busman, Arts Council of Fayetteville

“We hear it all the time,” says Amy Allison as she talks with me about an upcoming Arts Council exhibition. “’My grandma used to quilt.’ ‘I have one on my bed.’ That sort of thing. A lot of people call us the blanket brigade. But we’re much more.”
She’s talking about the Tarheel Quilters Guild as she and other members prepare for their upcoming gallery show, Joined by Stitching: A Quilter's Art, which opens on April 10 at the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County at 301 Hay St.
The Tarheel Quilters have been around for 45 years, and members enjoy monthly meetings and service projects together (including donating an impressive 400 quilts for NICU babies and veterans last year). Amy Allison serves as one of the curators of the exhibit, along with fellow Guild members Irene Grimes and Sana Moulder. They see it as part of their mission to showcase what quilting can be with over 40 handmade quilts featured in the exhibition.
But they know what you’re picturing when you hear the word ‘quilt,’ and they are ready to prove you wrong.
“Fiber arts - quilting in particular - are often categorized as either traditional craft or contemporary art,” says Grimes. “What excites me about this exhibit is that it bridges both worlds; many of the pieces are utilitarian while also expressing strong ideas and perspectives.”
Some pieces also tackle larger concerns of the artist. Allison’s quilt, titled “Save Our Water,” addresses the issue of clean water availability.
“Water treatment plants are doing the best that they can, but people like stuff, and stuff is manufactured, and sometimes there is a byproduct that is unintended and gets in our water.” For many, quilting is how they process the world.
“My quilts are where I find my voice. They are a form of reflection, advocacy and opinion,” says Grimes.
In a more meta way, the act of having a quilting exhibit is enough to challenge the art world.
“Historically, women have had few socially acceptable outlets for expressing their creativity or opinions,” remarks Moulder. “Quilting was one of the few activities society deemed ‘useful,’ and therefore permissible.”
The hope is to remind visitors that quilting is art, that the work these women do with cloth and thread is a creative process.
“I hope new quilters and textile artists see that quilting is every bit as much a form of artistic expression as painting, sculpture, or photography.”
As the Tarheel Quilters continue to share their work with the wider community, they invite viewers to look more closely at the stitches and the stories.
As Grimes puts it, “If visitors leave the exhibit understanding what the artists wanted to say, perhaps gaining a new perspective or simply feeling more curious, then we’ve done our job.”
The opening reception for Joined by Stitching: A Quilter's Art, will be held on April 10 in the main gallery from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

"On Golden Pond" showing at the Gilbert Theater

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Tuesday, 17 March 2026

Written by Amber Little

The next production in the season lineup for Gilbert Theater is On Golden Pond, a tale of an aging couple in their forty-eighth year at their summer house. This summer will prove to be unlike any other, with a visit from their daughter, a new teenage grandchild inherited through the daughter's new marriage, and the lessons they all learn living together over the course of those few blissful months.
Opening night is Friday, March 20, and the show is every weekend, with the last show on April 5. Tickets can be purchased at the Gilbert Theater box office located at 116 Green Street or online at https://ci.ovationtix.com/36002/production/1236960.
This season’s lineup has been incredible, packed with shows that have made theater-goers laugh, cry and think, reaching audiences of all ages and demographics. On Golden Pond is no exception, bringing together a cast of seasoned actors to breathe this beautiful story of age, mortality, and generational living to life. On Golden Pond, a 5-scene, 2-act play, follows Ethel and Norman Thayer, a couple who have been together a lifetime.
Norman’s health is slowly withering, and so is his mind. Ethel, ten years his junior, is faced with the possibility of life without him, while also creating new memories with him and their soon-to-be grandchild. While their daughter and fiancé head to Europe for a summer of new love, they leave behind his son with the elderly couple. Norman and the teen form a multigenerational bond, leaving a lasting impact on all of them; a tale of the duality of life, a summer of newness with an underlying sense
of uncertainty.
The cast is full of Gilbert regulars, a vibrant and still sassy group with decades of experience to bring to the stage. Evan Bridenstine is directing this production, his second one at the Gilbert. When asked what drew him to this particular production, he explained, “There’s a humanity here in the story that I like, and it ties to the same kind of humanity that I found in Rabbit Holes (his directorial debut).”
Leading the small but stellar cast are two theater legends, Rhonda Brocki, playing Ethel Thayer, and James Dean, playing Norman Thayer. Fresh off the stage from Cabaret, Brocki is looking forward to bringing this lively character to life, noting, “On Golden Pond has been a favorite movie of mine, and it’s something I was really interested in doing when it came out. So, I’m really excited about that.”
Dean has been acting since 1976 and is a Gilbert Theater staple, having performed in around 40 productions. While not a fan of the movie like Brocki, Dean saw something in the play that he couldn’t resist.
“I like the play… The play is much more interesting for me because we’ve really been digging into it,” adding, “I’m very happy to have Evan as a director because I’ve never worked with him before. And he’s proven himself to be a listener. An adaptor.”
On Golden Pond addresses age and what that looks like and means from the eyes of those aging, a unique perspective that definitely had the actors channeling real life to capture the essence of the story.
“[It’s] definitely relatable to my life and to some people that I know or in my family. I’m not going to say it’s easy, but I can understand it,” Brocki explained.
But the play isn’t all serious.
“I would love for everyone to realize, don’t come thinking that you’re going to be boohooing and have to sit through a drama. There is a lot of humor and fun in this play. And I think it will resonate with everyone. You’ll be able to relate to it whether you’re young or old,” said Brocki.
Dean, whose real-life wit fits perfectly with his character, has enjoyed exploring the depths of On Golden Pond.
“It’s also about their child, who the mother loves very much, but the father is rather estranged from, and the family dynamics and finding their way through. My character, Norman, talks about death a lot. He’s about to turn 80 in the first scene, so he’s prepared to die at some point, but then these other people arrive. He’s a very witty and funny guy.”
Opening night for On Golden Pond will be extra special with the announcement of the 2026-2027 main stage season.
When the house opens at 7:30 p.m., staff and AD, Matt Lamb, will greet patrons and reveal their 5 shows for the upcoming season. While the show titles are being kept a secret for now, the theme for next year is something Lamb is excited about: Home is Where the Heart Is.
For more information on Gilbert Theater and the last two shows of the season, visit https://www.gilberttheater.com/.

(Image courtesy of Gilbert Theater Facebook Page)