Candlelight & Cocktails

February 14, 2025 at 6:00pm

Purchase Tickets

Serenade Series Concert

The Heritage Room

118 E Council St, Salisbury, NC 28144

Our "Ladies' Night" event has been replaced with a NEWLY CREATED event for the same evening at a new location... the HERITAGE ROOM in Salisbury.

Designed with couples in mind, "Cocktails and Candlelight" will feature an all-female string quintet led by Salisbury Symphony violist Kate Middel in the intimate setting of the Heritage Room. This new event will include a special signature cocktail designed just for the occasion and a charcuterie collection provided by the White Rabbit Cocktail Parlour. Casual dress; bring your significant other, or your Mom, or both! Discounts for parties of four.

Meet the artists

Meet the performers

Featuring

Amanda Gentile

Violinist

Read Bio

Amanda Gentile is a violinist based in Charlotte, NC. She performs with several orchestras throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee, subbing with the Charlotte Symphony regularly. She also enjoys performing for diverse settings, such as in large arenas with Michael Buble, Josh Groban, and Andrea Bocelli, and small chamber groups, such as yoga classes, Irish bands, rock bands, and musicals.

Born and raised in Las Vegas, she holds a BM and BA from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, a Graduate Certificate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a MM from Appalachian State University. While at Appalachian State, she played violin for the Hayes String Quartet. As an educator, Amanda holds a private studio of students who regularly audition and place into their county, regional, all-state, and national orchestras. When she is not performing or teaching, Amanda loves spending time with her 8 year old dog, Tornado.

Featuring

Katie Miller

Dr. Ryan Graebert is the principal cellist of the Salisbury Symphony, the principal of the North Carolina Chamber Orchestra, and the associate principal of the Winston Salem Symphony. In addition to giving masterclasses, solo/lecture recitals, and chamber music recitals throughout the country, Dr. Graebert has performed as a concerto soloist with the Radford University Chamber Orchestra (Haydn D, 2022), the Rutherford Chamber Consort (Vivaldi Double, 2020), the North Carolina Chamber Orchestra (Haydn C Major, 2019), the Salisbury Symphony (Dvorak Concerto, 2018), the Danville Symphony (Beethoven Triple, 2016) and, in 2009, was an artist in residence with the Hilton Head Symphony where he performed as a concerto soloist (Mozart Concert-Rondo) and gave multiple chamber music recitals and classes. Dr. Graebert holds a B.M. in Cello Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a M.M. in Cello Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a D.M.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he was the recipient of the Excellence Fellowship. He has performed in masterclasses for Steven Isserlis, Zuill Bailey, and Michael Haber, and his mentors include Darrett Adkins, Dmitry Kousov, Peter Howard, Melissa Kraut, and Alexander Ezerman.

Featuring

Kate Middel

Percussionist

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Kate Middel is the Associate Principal Violist of the Salisbury Symphony, where she also serves as the Orchestra Committee Chairperson and teaches with Salisbury Symphony After School Strings. She regularly performs with orchestras, choral societies, and churches throughout the Carolinas and holds contracts with the Rock Hill Symphony Orchestra, Western Piedmont Symphony, and as the Union Symphony’s Principal Violist in addition to the Salisbury Symphony.

She maintains a studio of violin and viola students in Greensboro and teaches in the ENCORE program at the Canterbury School. Her students range in age from four through adult, and she has experience working with students with special needs, including ADHD, Asperger’s Syndrome, and students with visual impairments. Her students regularly earn placement in All-County Orchestras, NCMEA Regional and Honors Orchestras, and with their local youth symphonies. When she isn’t making or teaching music, Kate can be found tending her vegetable garden or walking in the woods.

Featuring

Hanna Fishastion

Featuring

Mara Barker