Champlain Philharmonic with Tracy Silverman Comes to the Town Hall Theater, 4/7

The violin is over 400 years old, but it's still evolving as a musical instrument. Electrified, it has a range of colors and timbres that Mozart could only dream about.

Tracy Silverman has been called the greatest living exponent of the electric violin, and he'll join the Champlain Philharmonic Orchestra for a concert at Middlebury's Town Hall Theater on Sunday, April 7.

Conductor Paul Gambill has created a program that includes Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, Marin Van Buren's Life, and the premiere of Embrace, a piece for electric violin and orchestra by Kenji Bunch.

The new composition has an unusual inspiration - the flash mob. Bunch begins the work with a solo violin on stage. Music gradually emerges from offstage, from the back of the hall, and from the audience itself, surrounding and embracing the audience. Bunch usually works within the tradition of Western form and harmony, but this piece is built on hypnotic rhythmic drives and improvisation, and includes elements of Afrobeat, Indian music, and gospel.

The concert is on Sunday, April 7, at 4 pm. Tickets are $15 adult, $12 senior, $10 student, and under 12 free. They may be purchased at www.townhalltheater.org, at 382-9222, at the THT Box Office (Mon-Sat, noon-5pm) or at the door.

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