Smoky Mountains National Park 75th Anniversary Concert

Saturday,
June 13, 2009
3:00 PM

Parking passes required for admission.  To purchase a parking pass call the KSO Box office at 865-291-3310.

Passes are still available, they just need to be picked up from the KSO Office by 4:30 PM June 12. (The KSO can no longer mail passes for this concert.)

**It is recommended that you allow plenty of travel time when planning for this concert. 

Concerts in the Community
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
     Cades Cove
map

Lucas Richman, conductor
U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, piano
Katy Wolfe Zahn, soprano

Click here to see and hear Senator Alexander play Tennessee Waltz and discuss his musical background on NPR's Weekend Edition.

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will perform an outdoor concert at Cades Cove on Saturday, June 13 at 3 p.m. as part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s 75^th Anniversary celebration. The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Lucas Richman, will be joined by U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander who will perform on a grand piano, reminiscent of his past performance during the national park’s 50^th Anniversary.

The outdoor concert, in partnership with the Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, will be held in the Cable Mill area adjacent to the Cades Cove Visitor Center, located half-way around the 11 mile one-way loop road. Due to limitations in the amount of parking available at the concert site, the event will be restricted to those having purchased a vehicle pass in advance. Vehicle passes may be purchased by calling the KSO Box Office at 865-291-3310; only two passes will be issued per person. The cost of the event is $25 for vehicles with up to a 15-passenger capacity and $50 for vehicles with a capacity greater than 15 passengers.  Concert-goers are encouraged to carpool and bring chairs and/or blankets. 

The KSO will perform pop and light classical favorites including The Star Spangled Banner, Williams’ Overture to The Cowboys, Foster’s Beautiful Dreamer, Ungar’s Ashokan Farewell, America the Beautiful, selections from Rodgers’ Sound of Music and more. Additionally, the orchestra will also perform the world premiere of local composer James Carlson’s Off Trail In The Smokies, commissioned by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra specifically for this concert. Senator Alexander will perform three works with the orchestra including Mozart’s Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Chopin’s Prelude in C Minor and a Gospel Medley. Soprano Katy Wolfe Zahn will also join the orchestra throughout the afternoon.

More information about the Cades Cove Concert.

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, piano

Lamar Alexander was born in Maryville, the son of a kindergarten teacher and an elementary school principal. He is a seventh generation Tennessean.  

He chairs the Senate Republican Conference  and  serves on committees overseeing education, clean air, highways, science, appropriations and the Tennessee Valley Authority. He is the only Tennessean ever popularly elected both governor and U.S. Senator.

Sen. Alexander has been U.S. Education Secretary, University of Tennessee president, and professor at Harvard 's School of Government. He chaired the National Governors’ Association and President Reagan's Commission on Americans Outdoors.  In private life, he helped found the nation’s largest provider of worksite day care.

In his campaign for governor, Lamar Alexander walked 1,000 miles across Tennessee in his now famous red and black plaid shirt. Once elected, he helped Tennessee become the third largest auto producer and the first state to pay teachers more for teaching well.

He is a classical and country pianist and the author of seven books, including Six Months Off, the story of his family’s life in Australia after he was governor.

Lamar Alexander and Honey Buhler were married in 1969. They have four children and two grandchildren.  He is a Presbyterian elder.

More about Lamar Alexander:

*He is the first Tennessean elected to consecutive four-year terms as governor.

*He started Tennessee's Governor's Schools for outstanding students.

*He is the first Tennessee Republican to serve on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

*In 2006, the NCAA named him to the list of the "100 Most Influential Student-Athletes" in its 100-year history.

*Lamar Alexander met Honey Buhler at a staff softball game when he worked for Sen. Howard H. Baker of Tennessee and she worked for Sen. John G. Tower of Texas.

*While clerking for Judge John Minor Wisdom of the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans he played trombone, tuba and washboard at night at “Your Father’s Moustache” on Bourbon Street.

Katy Wolfe Zahn, soprano

Katy Wolfe Zahn has appeared extensively in this region as well as overseas as an active and versatile performer fluent in both opera and musical theater. Favorite roles include Sally in Cabaret the title role in Suor Angelica, Desiree in A Little Night Music, Mercedes in Carmen with the Knoxville Opera Company, and Jenny in Threepenny Opera with the Oak Ridge Symphony. She frequently performs as a soloist with the Oak Ridge Symphony including a performance of Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, which she premiered at the Cathedral Music Festival in Southwark, Coventry and Salisburry Cathedrals in England. Ms. Zahn has appeared with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Classics and Pops Series as well as singing for the Fourth of July Celebration in World’s Fair Park.

Ms. Zahn holds a Bachelor’s degree from Belmont University and a Master’s degree from University of Tennessee where she was a graduate assistant and Knoxville Opera apprentice. A student of George Bitzas’, Katy is a private voice teacher, conductor and director of Sound Company, The Children’s Performing Choir of Oak Ridge, and resides in Oak Ridge with her supportive family.