The FTCC Guest Artist Concert Series starts its 2024-25 season Sept. 30 with a performance by the BlackBox Ensemble.

The free event is at 7 p.m. in Cumberland Hall Auditorium on FTCC’s Fayetteville campus. The public is welcome.

The series, which began with a limited run of musical events last academic year, returns bolstered by a $10,476 grant from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County and support from the N.C. Arts Council, the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and other community partners. FTCC Foundation recently announced receipt of the Project Support Grant.

This year’s series includes five engagements. Each artist will perform a free, public concert and will give a lecture or masterclass or participate in rehearsals with FTCC students. Additional concerts, exhibitions, lectures, and theatrical performances will be offered throughout the year through the FTCC Fine Arts Department.

The guest artists for the 2024-25 academic year are:

• The Blackbox Ensemble, a contemporary new music ensemble based in New York City, will give a masterclass on free improvisation and perform in concert on Sept. 30.
• Dr. Stephen Love will visit FTCC a number of times over the Fall semester, giving lectures and masterclasses, and directing rehearsals with FTCC ensembles. His visits will culminate with a performance by FTCC student ensembles, highlighting Dr. Love as guest artist on Dec. 4.
• The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra Wind Quintet will visit FTCC in February 2025, giving a concert featuring the music of composer Ahmed Al Abaca. The FTCC Band will make an appearance, performing music by composers Ahmed Al Abaca and Brittany J. Green.
• Composer, educator and performer Dr. Daniel Pappas and the All-American Jazz Collective will visit FTCC in March 2025. Dr. Pappas will give a masterclass and demonstration on the use of generative AI in music composition, and the All-American Jazz Collective will perform in concert with the FTCC Ensemble.
• To conclude the season, the FTCC, Jack Britt HS and Gray’s Creek HS choral programs will collaborate in a concert entitled “The Road.” This concert will feature a small string orchestra from the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, and include a performance of Ola Gjeilo’s new work “The Road,” in addition to other appropriately themed choral works.

FTCC Music Instructor Alec Powers is organizing the series.

“Cultural arts programming and arts education are so extremely important within our society,” Powers said in a press release. “Engagement with music has so many benefits, to include emotional regulation, increased coordination and cognitive function, and cultivation of a sense of belonging and purpose. It is vital that we continue to offer musical programming and musical education opportunities in our community not only for our students, but for the community at large.”

For more information about the FTCC Guest Artist Concert Series, contact the FTCC Foundation at foundation@faytechcc.edu or 910-678-8441, or the Music Department at music@faytechcc.edu or 910-678-9773.