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RALEIGH - When the North Carolina Symphony held a gala concert just two days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the job of explaining why the show should go on fell to David Chambless Worters.
A moving rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" and the somber "Elgar Enigma Variations" - written into the night' s program to honor the victims - gave little hint of what went on behind the scenes.
There was a mad, but failed, dash to make travel arrangements for guest violinist Itzhak Perlman, paired with deliberations about whether taking the stage would be inappropriate.
The show did go on, with Worters explaining the decision as a display of solidarity and an act of healing. The decision represented another twist in a two-year tenure that has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. The company's corporate and charitable support has risen to record levels, while it has christened Meymandi Concert Hall and Cary's Regency Park Amphitheatre.
But the events of Sept. 11...