Forte Fridays

Musicians from the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra (FSO) are available for sectionals,
lessons, masterclasses, or other forms of special instruction on the following Fridays:

October 11, 2024

January 24, 2025

February 21, 2025

March 14, 2025 (Percussion only)

April 25, 2025



Schools that book an instructor for the Forte Fridays program will also receive a special
invitation to an FSO dress rehearsal so students can see the musicians in action and experience
a professional orchestra rehearsal. Instructors are available for band and orchestra and in all instrument groups.

Fee: $200/instructor
Age Group: High School

Visits can be booked through Fayetteville/Cumberland County Arts Council’s Artists in School (AIS) Program. The Arts Council’s Artists In Schools Programs offer opportunities for Cumberland County students to learn from Teaching Artists through residencies, assembly performances, workshops, and virtual/online engagements. Learn more by visiting the button below.

For questions & booking information please email info@fayettevillesymphony.org, or call 910-433-4690. Other dates (including days other than Fridays) may be coordinated upon request.

Featured Musician

Grant Barker, Second Trumpet

Grant Barker, originally from Orange Park, Florida, is currently the Second Trumpet of the Fayetteville Symphony. This will be his first season with the orchestra and has been a substitute for the orchestra in previous years. He is also a member of the Army Bands program and is stationed at Fort Liberty, NC in the 82nd Airborne Division Band. This will be his fifth year serving as Active Duty Army. Grant was the Adjunct Professor of Trumpet at Methodist University in Fayetteville, NC the past two years. Grant has also performed locally with the Carolina Philharmonic and The Long Bay Symphony in South Carolina.

Grant has also performed with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Georgia Symphony Orchestra, and the Longmont Symphony Orchestra. He was an active member of the Golden Brass in Colorado performing in Oktoberfest shows, latin band shows, and recital series performances for a wide variety of audiences. He has performed as a semi-finalist for the solo and trumpet ensemble divisions of the National Trumpet Competition during his collegiate studies for three years. Grant received his Bachelor’s of Music from the Jacob’s School of Music at Indiana University in 2017 and his Master’s of Music at the University of Northern Colorado in 2019. 

To Educate. To Entertain. To Inspire.

The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1956 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and is a professional, regional orchestra whose mission is to educate, entertain, and inspire the citizens of the Fayetteville, North Carolina region as the leading musical resource.  Praised for its artistic excellence, the Symphony leads in the cultural and educational landscape for Fayetteville and the southeastern North Carolina region.

The Fayetteville Symphony typically performs 8 concerts during any given season performing both at Methodist University and Fayetteville State University. Partnerships with other agencies include collaborative performances with Cape Fear Regional Theatre, chamber concerts at St. John’s Episcopal Church, as well as the city’s annual Independence concert with fireworks. The Symphony brings music to the schools and the community by performing educational concerts, as well as having its own Fayetteville Symphony Youth Orchestra, after school strings and summer music camps.

This organization is supported in part by a space grant from the BB&T Term Endowment of Cumberland Community Foundation, Inc.


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Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 302
Fayetteville, NC 28302

Office Location:
310 Green St., Suite 101
Fayetteville, NC 28301
P: (910) 433-4690
F: (910)433-4699
Office Hours:
Monday-Thursday
9:00am-5:00pm

info@fayettevillesymphony.org

Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra

310 GREEN ST., SUITE 101
Fayetteville, NC 28301

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