SWEET & SALTY VALENTINE’S DESSERT CONCERT
COLLEGEDALE, Tenn. — Come join the East Tennessee Symphony Orchestra for its Sweet & Salty Valentine’s Dessert Concert, Tuesday, February 11, at 7 p.m. at the Collegedale Commons on Swinyar Drive.
The performance starts with a “sweet” classical performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (featuring guest pianist Matthew Kimbley), and George Bizet’s opera Carmen; before switching gears to lay down a “salty” big band set with the symphony featuring guest vocalists Michael Smith and Ralph Miller, pianist Matthew Kimbley and soloist India Galyean.
Meet the Musicians & Singers:
Michael Smith was singing before he was talking. He has performed country, gospel, jazz, and big band music all over the Southeast as a solo artist and a member of the Uptown Big Band, the Swingtime Orchestra and the Glenn Draper Singers. Michael has performed at the Chattanooga Theater Center, the Signal Mountain Playhouse and Riverbend. He is the music director at North Shore Fellowship church in Chattanooga.
Ralph Miller has been performing music most of his life. The son of a professional musician and band director, Miller has been a professional musician and arranger as well as having been a band director and elementary school principal in the Hamilton County Schools. Miller has led many kinds of performing groups from big band to Dixieland and has assisted in preparation for this event.
Matthew Kimbley, 16, began his piano studies at the age of five. Later, under the tutelage of internationally acclaimed pianist Dr. John Cobb, Matthew placed first and grand prize in the 2011 Junior Division of the Asheville Area Piano Forum Piano Competition, and first place in the 2012 Senior Division. At age eleven, his family moved to Collegedale, TN, where he began studies with Dr. Peter Cooper, Dean of Music at Southern Adventist University. Along with his many accomplishments, he also performed two full-length piano recitals in 2016 and 2018 and was a winner of Southern’s Concerto Competition in 2016. In his free time, Matthew enjoys reading, photography and music composition.
Guests may enjoy a complimentary selection of hot drinks, desserts and roses. Desserts are courtesy of Honey & Hive Baking & Catering Co. Seats are first come-first serve, and guests are asked to arrive early to reserve a spot.
