Discount N.C. Symphony Tickets a High Note

When Michele De Smet recently attended a North Carolina Symphony concert with her son, Ethan, the music gave her goose bumps.She and her 14-year-old listened to Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” in which a chorus of 100 people belted out the vocals.“That was probably the most incredible thing that I’ve ever seen in my life,” said De Smet, a Duke orthopedic nurse. “It’s so powerful. To go and listen to classical music done well, it just gives my sons a knowledge base that some kids don’t ever learn.”De Smet attends about 15 N.C. Symphony concerts a year, from opera renditions such as Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” to Tchaikovsky classics. She pays about half of the ticket price because she’s a Duke employee.Through PERQS, Duke’s employee discount program, faculty and staff can save up to 40 percent off regular ticket prices for certain concerts in the 2015-16 season by using a promo code available on the PERQS website or by calling the N.C. Symphony box office at (919) 733-2750. The discount is not available at the door.Among the discount concerts are Raleigh Classical Series performances featuring Beethoven and Mozart pieces, a “Music from the Movies” pops concert, as well as holiday concerts featuring music from “The Polar Express,” “Frozen” and others. Many of the concerts are at Meymandi Concert Hall in Raleigh, but other performances are scheduled throughout the Triangle and state. N.C. Symphony associate conductor David Glover, who will lead many of the holiday performances, said the orchestra performs about two to three times per week, on average, around North Carolina.Glover spends a few months examining a score and deconstructing it before a concert and thinks it’s important to present classical and traditional pieces alongside contemporary works by newer composers.“Classics are usually classics for a reason,” Glover said. “A lot of people relate to them, but it’s also important that we don’t become stuck in a formula. For me, it’s wonderful when I’m able to take what I do and mash it up with an actor, dancer, singer or a movie, and combine two different types of art forms. You come up with something new and exciting.”