Mandolin prodigy Sierra Hull performs with virtuosity and charm – May 3
April 22, 2014
With formidable mandolin skills that rival long standing pros, Sierra Hull shines as a leading light in a new generation of bluegrass musicians, Saturday, May 3, 2014 at 8:00pm at Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place. A player with clarity and fleet-fingered precision, Hull attacks her performances with spontaneity and depth of feeling—as she puts it “playing with a point to prove.” As her audiences quickly discover, boundaries—age, genre or otherwise—don’t hamper an artist like Sierra Hull.
As a child, Sierra Hull was disappointed when she discovered that the first string instrument that she received as a Christmas gift, a full-sized fiddle, was too large for her arms. When her father gave her his mandolin as consolation, no one could have known that she would become one of the foremost mandolin players in the nation.
Sierra Hull has blazed onto the bluegrass scene and already possesses an impressive résumé. She made her Grand Ole Opry debut at age 11, cut her first album Secrets by age 16, and is the first bluegrass musician to receive the Berklee School of Music’s prestigious Presidential Scholarship. She has been nominated for numerous International Bluegrass Music Association Awards including a 2013 nomination for Mandolin Player of the Year—her sixth nomination for that title. She remains the first female mandolin player, and the youngest musician ever, to be nominated for this award.
Hull has performed with bluegrass legends including Alison Krauss, Sam Bush, and Ricky Skaggs. Performance venues have included Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and at the National Prayer Breakfast, alongside Krauss, who says of her, “Sierra is a remarkably talented, beautiful human being. Success could not come to a more worthy person.” For her two solo albums, Hull’s studio bands have featured the cream of the contemporary bluegrass crop including Bryan Sutton, Stuart Duncan and Randy Kohrs.
As she continues to lead the way for a new generation of bluegrass musicians, you can’t help but feel that this is just the beginning for Sierra Hull.
Sierra Hull’s Asheville performance is made possible by Performance Sponsor BB&T; and by Mainstage Music Series Sponsors Henry LaBrun and Arby’s; with additional support from Media Sponsors WNCW 88.7 FM and The Laurel of Asheville.
The new entrance for the Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place is marked by the location of the theatre’s new marquee between 12 and 14 Biltmore Avenue. Patrons enter the theatre through the breezeway next to Marble Slab Creamery, and into a large interior courtyard for Pack Place with multiple glass doors to the theatre’s lower lobby and new box office. The intimate theatre seats just over 500 and boasts exceptional acoustics and sightlines, making it the premier performance space in Western North Carolina. The Mainstage Series is supported by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency. The Mainstage Series 2013/2014 Season Sponsors are the Asheville Scene, Blue Moon Water, Creative Energy, Laurey’s Catering and Gourmet-to-go, the North Carolina Arts Council, and the Renaissance Asheville Hotel. To obtain more information on the Mainstage Series or to purchase tickets, call the theatre’s box office at (828) 257-4530 or visit www.dwtheatre.com.