Information on  music, theater and dance in the Greenville and Pitt County area.

ECU/Loessin Playhouse

Sept. 29-Oct. 4: “Stage Door”

Nov. 17-22: “Oklahoma!”

Dec. 3: Encore: A scholarship fundraiser

Jan. 26-31, 2012: Dance 2012

Feb. 23-28, 2012: “The Elephant Man”

April 19-24, 2012: “The Threepenny Opera”

Season tickets are For tickets, call the ECU Central ticket office, 328-6829 or (800) ECU-ARTS or visit www.ecuarts.com.

The S. Rudolph Alexander Performing Arts Series

Features professional attractions from the fields of music, dance and theater. All performances are held at 8 p.m. in Wright Auditorium. Tickets are $10-$30 unless otherwise noted.

Sept. 9: Donald Lawerence, $10-$25

Oct. 3: United States Marine Band “The President’s Own,” free

Oct. 25: David Dorfman Dance: “Prophets of Funk”

Nov. 4: An evening with Ben Vereen, $10-$35

Nov. 5: The Green Grass Cloggers: Celebrating 40 years, $5-$10

Dec. 2: The Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Jan. 20, 2012: New York Voices

Feb. 9, 2012: Chris Botti, $10-$45

March 15, 2012: Ballet Memphis

7:30 p.m. March 16, 2012: The Jack Quartet, A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall, $10

April 12, 2012: Natalie Cole, $25-$65

For tickets, call the ECU Central ticket office, 328-4788 or (800) ECU-ARTS or visit www.ecuarts.com.

Family Fare

East Carolina University’s Family Fare Series features fun, educational programs for children and their families. All performances are in Wright Auditorium. Tickets are $9 for adults and $6 for children in advance. All tickets are $9 at the door. A Family Pass is $96 for a Family Pass, $30 adult season tickets, $20 child season tickets.

Oct 21: Stinky Cheese Man: The Musical

Jan. 13, 2012: The Kennedy Center for Young Audiences presents “Locomotion”

March 9, 2012: Arcattack!

March 30, 2012: “The Secret Garden”

For tickets, call the ECU Central Ticket Office, 328-4788 or (800) ECU-ARTS or visit www.ecuarts.com.

Four Seasons Chamber
Music Festival

Sept. 29-30: Season opening extravaganza. Program includes Johannes Brahms’ String Quintet in F Major, Op. 88 and Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quintet in B Flat Major, Op. 87.

Oct. 23: Next Generation Concert I

Dec. 8-9: Phantastic Classics. Program includes Robert Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E Flat Major, Op. 47; Frank Bridge’s Phantasy for Piano Quartet in F Sharp Minor; and Johannes Brahms’ Piano Quartet in C Minor, Op. 60.

Jan. 12-13, 2012: “Contrasts.” Program includes Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70 No. 1 “Ghost”; Johannes Brahms’ Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, Op. 100; and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Trio in E Minor, Op. 67.

Jan. 22, 2012: Next Generation Concert II

April 26-27, 2012: Season finale. Program includes Edward Elgar’s String Serenade in E Minor, Op. 20 (arr. Ara Gregorian); Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4; and Johannes Brahms’ String Sextet in B Flat Major, Op. 18.

Concerts are held at 7 p.m. Thursdays and 8 p.m. Fridays in A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall on the ECU campus. Season subscriptions are $90 public, $80 ECU employee and $35 student/youth. Individual ticket prices are $25 public, $20 ECU employees and $10 students/youth. For tickets, call 800-ECU-ARTS or visit www.ecuarts.com.

Farmville Community
Arts Council

The Farmville Community Arts Council will present several theater productions throughout the year. Call 753-3832.

Farmville Community Arts Council, Inc., Paramount Theatre, 3723 N. Main Street, Farmville. Call 753-3832 or visit www.farmvillearts.org.

Magnolia Arts Center

Magnolia Arts Center shows foreign films, sponsors music and film festivals, produces plays, sponsors an annual 10-minute play contest, hold classes, a Tony Awards party, a film festival and a Ten Minute Play competition.

10-minute play contest

The sixth annual Ten Minute Play contest will hold a staging at 3 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Tipsy Teapot, 409 S. Evans St. Judges Jeffrey Johnson, Chair of East Carolina University’s English Department, theater director Kevin Lee and local actress Cindy Quinn selected the top five plays to be read. The audience will vote for the winner. Admission is $5.

Theater schedule

7:30 p.m. Feb. 3-4, 10-11, 2012: “Love Letters” by A.R. Gurney

June 8-10, 14-16, 2012: “Crimes of the Heart” by Beth Henley

Aug. 10-12, 16-18, 2012: “Second Samuel” by Pamela Parker.

Shows are held at the Music Academy of Eastern Carolina, 1400 Red Banks Road, at 7:30 p.m. except Sundays when the show will be held at 2 p.m.

Tickets for theater presentations are $12 in advance and $15 at the door or $40 for a season subscription.

Visit www.magnoliaartscenter.com or call (888) MAC-EVNT.

Ayden Community
Theatre

The Ayden Theatre Workshop started in 1978 and ran until the 1990s. The workshop was revived in April 2005.

The Ayden Theatre Workshop changed its name to the Ayden Community Theatre (ACT) in August 2007.

Auditions are open to anyone in the community and productions include thespians of all ages from all over Pitt County.

Theater productions:

Oct. 14-15 and Oct. 21-22: “Nunsense”

Dec. 9-11: “The Best Christmas Pagent”

Feb. 10-11 and Feb. 17-18, 2012: “Don’t Bother Me. I Can’t Cope!”

April 20-21, 2012: Dinner Theater

All productions are held at the Doug Mitchell Auditorium in the Ayden Arts and Recreation Center, 4354 Lee St., Ayden. Call 746-7002.

ECU School of Music

Year-round concerts and recitals feature faculty members, students and guest performers. Call 328-6851 or visit www.ecu.edu.

Oct. 14-16: Octubafest

Nov. 3-4, 6: Opera Performance

Feb. 25, 2012: Tribute to Motown

April 20-22, 2012: Sixth annual organ competition

April 20-21, 2012: Billy Taylor Jazz Festival

Greenville Choral Society

The Greenville Choral Society performs several concerts during the fall through spring. The 2011-2012 season marks the society’s 42nd anniversary.

7 p.m. Oct. 14: A Concert of the World’s Greatest Opera Choruses, Peace Presbyterian Church, 301 Guinness Lane, Winterville

7:30 p.m. Oct. 25: A Concert of the World’s Greatest Opera Choruses, at Washington High School, 400 Slatestone Road, Washington, N.C.

3 p.m. Dec. 3: Children and Youth Holiday concert with Andrew Scalon on organ, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 401 E. Fourth St..

7 p.m. Dec. 3: Christmas Through the Ages, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 401 E. Fourth St.

7 p.m. Dec. 17: Christmas Through the Ages, First Baptist Church, 2600 Rouse Road, Kinston.

7 p.m. March 24, 2012: “Lord Nelson” Mass by Franz Joseph Hayden with soloists and New Carolina Sinfonia, First Christian Church, 2810 East 14th St.

7 p.m. April 1, 2012: Children and Youth Spring concert, Peace Presbyterian Church, 301 Guinness Lane, Winterville

6 p.m. May 19, 2012: 11th annual Black Tie Gala Fundriaser “Your Favorite Love Songs,” Hilton Greenville, 207 S.W. Greenville Blvd.

Call 353-5495 or visit 
www.greenvillechoralsociety.com.

Emerald City Big Band

Rehearses on Thursday evenings and presents concerts and benefit performances throughout the year. Call 756-7842.

FolkArts Society 
of Greenville

The FolkArts Society of Greenville presents a concert series of traditional and contemporary folk music, contradances, salsa and other performing arts. Visit www.geocities.com/
greenvillefolkarts.

Music Academy
of Eastern Carolina

The Music Academy of Eastern Carolina, 1400 Red Banks Road, is a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts. MAEC is for students of all ages and abilities and offers music lessons, jazz studies, music therapy and Suzuki guitar. Call 353-6232.

Smiles & Frowns
Playhouse Inc.

P.O. Box 1945, Greenville. Nonprofit group for children in grades K-12 to explore all aspects of theater with adult supervision. Productions are held at the Doug Mitchell Memorial Theatre, 511 S. Lee St., Ayden. For more information, visit www.smilesandfrowns.net or call 756-4959.

Sunday in the Park

Greenville Recreation and Parks Department, P.O. Box 7201, Greenville. 329-4567. This summer free concert series is held at 7 p.m. Sundays during the summer beginning in June on the Greenville Town Common.

Tar River Community Band

Rehearses at 7:15 p.m. Thursday evenings at C.M. Eppes Middle School. The band plays a wide variety of music: marches, show tunes, jazz, swing and classical. The band’s season begins in August around the time the school year begins, and ends with a Sunday in the Park performance.

Festivals/Events

Fourth of July celebration: Greenville Jaycee’s annual celebration on the Town Common. Visit www.greenvillejaycees.org.

Winterville Watermelon Festival: Town of Winterville celebration is held in August. Visit www.watermelonfest.com.

Ayden Collard Festival: Town celebration held in September. Visit www.aydencollardfestival.com.

Fountain Peanut Festival: Town celebration held in August. Visit www.fountainpeanutfestival.com.

Pitt County Fair: Held at the Pitt County Fairgrounds on U.S. 264 the first week of October. Call 758-6816.

Festival of Trees: Festival of decorated trees to benefit The Family Support Network of Eastern North Carolina. Visit www.fsnenc.org.

Grifton Shad Festival: Town celebration held in April. Visit http://www.grifton.com/shadfest.html.

Farmville Dogwood Festival: Town festival held the fourth weekend in April. Call 753-5814.

Great Purple /Gold Pigskin Pig Out Party: Football activities, food, a pig-cooking contest and music in April. Call 328-4530.

PirateFest: Held in downtown Greenville in April.