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.
Across the globe from Vietnam, effects of the war reverberate through the state, where social and political perspectives are shifting quickly and dramatically.
These places are the stewards of some very special items: Doc Watson’s first recording, the desk Virginia Woolf used to redefine the novel, and Elisha Mitchell’s pocket watch are just some of the cherished pieces that teach us about our state’s history and the people who preserve it.
From burgers to comfort food to elegant entrées, the range of plant-based dining in North Carolina is growing. Restaurants on this list are exclusively vegetarian and/or vegan.
