Last year, Brian Meixner took the phrase “the trumpet shall sound” literally. An associate professor of music at High Point University, Meixner founded the North Carolina Brass Band (NCBB), the state’s newest professional music ensemble, and the newest professional brass band in the country.
NCBB is a British-style brass band, composed of 28 musicians and instruments from cornets to tubas, as well as percussion. NCBB has garnered national and international attention with its debut album, First in Flight.
Of the band’s holiday series this month, Meixner says, “It’s traditional Christmas music … with a twist.”
Historically, brass bands in North Carolina were largely community-based. As one of a handful of professional brass bands in the nation, NCBB still has those small-town roots — plus big-city sound.
Hitting the trail has never have been more popular, but getting started can be intimidating. Let super hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis tell you how to prepare for everything from a short day trip to a state-wide hike.
The 1960s architecture, croaking call boxes, and carhops toting plastic trays stacked with steaming fries and frosty shakes: What-A-Burger — the beloved North Carolina chain, not the popular Texas franchise — is a living remnant from a time when cars were king.
Memories of hitchhiking across North Carolina — and the United States — in the 1970s never dimmed for this author.
In North Carolina, Pig Pickin' Cake is an essential companion to any good barbecue (noun, not a verb).
