Tryon Concert Association’s 60-year history will be presented by board officers Gwen Suesse and Mimi Traxler at Lanier Library’s Brown Bag Lunch on Tuesday, Sept. 16.

This volunteer group began in 1954 when David Cromer, superintendent of Polk County Schools at the time, invited a small group of fellow music lovers to a discussion on organizing a concert series. Some, at that time, felt that Tryon was too small to attract high-quality shows.

The first concert, however, in January, 1955, featured baritone Robert McFerrin, who, shortly after his performance in Tryon, became the first African-American to sign with the Metropolitan Opera Company. Today, the group continues to bring world-class musicians to the Tryon Fine Arts Center with a series of four concerts each year from fall through spring.

Suesse, TCA president, and Traxler, corresponding secretary for the organization, will recall the early years, share anecdotes about the many artists who have performed through the years and talk about the upcoming season.

The program will be held at noon in the library, and is free and open to the public. For more information, call 828-859-9535 or visit lanierlib.org. Information on this and other Lanier Library events may also be found on the library’s new Facebook page, “Lanier Library Association.”

 

-article submitted
by Gina Malone