Famed Bassist and Star of Nickel Creek to Perform at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A fusion of bluegrass, classical and modern music will be presented by nationally-known musicians Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile on Jan. 28 as part of The University of Alabama School of Music’s Celebrity Series. The performance will be held at 3 p.m. in the Moody Music Building on the UA campus.

Fingers will fly as versatile bassist Meyer and mandolin virtuoso Thile present a boundary-shattering concert of acoustic music in a rare collaborative event.

Meyer is a Grammy Award-winning composer, arranger and performer who shines in both classical and bluegrass repertoire, a scope that earned him a “genius” grant from the MacArthur Foundation. A champion of mixing musical genres, Meyer has won roots-music, jazz and classical followings for his collaborations with artists ranging from jazz/bluegrass banjo picker Bela Fleck and bluegrass veterans Mike Marshall and Sam Bush, to classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Joshua Bell.

Hailed as a child prodigy, Thile, a multi-instrumentalist, won the national mandolin championship and released the first of his three solo albums at the age of 12. In 2001, he was named Mandolin Player of the Year by the Instrumental Bluegrass Association. He has worked with the Chieftains, Dixie Chicks, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton and Hank Williams, Jr. Nickel Creek, a bluegrass band he started at age 8, has won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album and has been credited with virtually re-inventing bluegrass. Today, at the age of only 24, he has forever changed the image of mandolin as a simple bluegrass instrument. Together, these highly sought-after performers promise to cover the gamut of their interests, and perhaps carve out some new territory.

Attracting audiences from across Alabama and surrounding states, the Celebrity Series provides the opportunity for musical arts enthusiasts to enjoy the sounds of performers from around the world.

“The Celebrity Series has become one of the premiere recital series in the United States,” said Skip Snead, director of the UA Music School. “When you factor in the tremendous acoustics of the Moody Music Concert Hall, you get the sort of series normally found only in a major metropolitan center. The series is one of those things that makes Tuscaloosa a special place.”

Meyer and Thile’s performance is sponsored by the Gloria Narramore Moody Foundation, which has brought world-renowned artists to Tuscaloosa since 1988. The Moody Foundation was founded in 1990 by Gloria Moody and her husband, the late Tuscaloosa businessman Frank McCorkle Moody, to support the arts and music. The Moody Foundation has also endowed scholarships at UA and has supported arts organizations elsewhere in the United States.

Celebrity Series season subscriptions are $72 and $55, single ticket prices are $22 and $15 for the general public and $7 for students.

For ticket information call the School of Music box office at 205/348-7111.