Ijams Nature Center’s 34th annual Symphony in the Park, presented by Clayton Homes, honors nature in art and music on Sunday, Sept. 8.
Symphony in the Park; image submitted |
The annual event, which is the nonprofit nature center’s largest annual fundraiser, is from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and features a silent auction during a cocktail hour followed by a seated dinner and concert on the Ijams Visitor Center lawn by the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra led by Music Director Aram Demirjian. Each year, Ijams highlights the work of guest visual and musical artists.
This year’s fundraiser includes the debut of a “wing” installation created by Matthew Cummings, owner of Pretentious Glass Company, and will spotlight the work of the organization’s other glass artists. Reminiscent of wings, Cummings’ long, colorful glass pieces are about 3 feet in length and are weighted to move independently within their environment. They can be hung in a variety of ways.
Cummings designed the torch sculpture in the University of Tennessee’s new student union. The 30-foot, 320-piece glass-and-steel creation weighs about 4,000 pounds and spans several floors of the new building.
As the guest musical artist, local musician Christina Horn continues the theme of nature and how it juxtaposes with technology. Since 2009, Horn has performed with Nate Barrett as Hudson K, a duo that bills itself as “electro-rock with Moog bass lines, danceable beats and swirling electronica.” Horn is the keyboardist/singer/songwriter, with Barrett on drums and vocals.
Horn is classically trained in piano and holds a bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s degree in pedagogy and literature from the University of Tennessee. When she’s not writing, performing and composing, she is an adjunct faculty member for Pellissippi State Community College’s Audio Production Engineering Program, and teaches private piano and keyboard lessons.
Horn first performed with Demirjian and the KSO in 2017, playing the keytar as an “alien” in “Mothership,” composed by Mason Bates. The concert also will feature favorites from Mozart, Beethoven and Debussy, as well as a few pop surprises.
The 34th annual Ijams Symphony in the Park, presented by Clayton Homes, is also supported by Ergon Terminaling, Inc., Home Federal Bank, Jupiter Entertainment, Regal, Thermal Label Warehouse, Est8te, Sharon and Steve Gigliotti, Gulf and Ohio Railways, Sherri Lee, Pilot Flying J, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Ann Sartwell and Robby Moore, Smile-A-Day, LLC, and Sunspot.
Tickets are $175 per person or $1,750 for a table of 10. Reservations can be made by calling Elizabeth Newman at 865-577-4717, ext. 123. For more information about Ijams Nature Center’s Symphony in the Park, visit https://Ijams.org.
