As the lights dimmed, a 29-piece chamber orchestra filled the stage, joined by a six-member blues band flown in from Mississippi. Above them, a massive screen displayed aged photographs and videos from Mississippi and other places shaped by Delta Blues from the early 1900s.
Guiding it all was Morgan Freeman’s distinct voice.
Lehigh welcomed Hollywood legend Freeman to Zoellner Arts Center on Friday for a sold-out blues concert that blended live music, narration and multimedia storytelling.
Each time Freeman introduced a new song, the audience was captivated by his story brought to life through multiple art forms.
Before the performance began, the co-owner of Ground Zero Blues Club, Eric Meier conducted a short interview with Freeman while wearing a Lehigh baseball cap. Meier asked questions about Freeman’s career and his connection to blues.
Zoellner Arts Executive Director Mark Wilson said months of planning, coordination and promotion went into making the performance one of the most memorable events of the semester.
Wilson said they began planning for the event in February, and he said it was complex to merge two ensembles who had never performed together before.
Wilson said the concert manager recruited top musicians from the Lehigh faculty and professionals from the Lehigh Valley to be part of the orchestra.
“When they hear they have an opportunity to be on stage performing something that’s connected with (Freeman), a lot of people want to be a part of that,” Wilson said.
He also said Lynn Farley, the director of marketing and communications for Zoellner, conducted outreach campaigns that helped sell out and build a waitlist for the show.
“It takes a lot of different parts of our team to make it work,” Wilson said.
Farley said she works to connect with the community, making sure the arts are infused on campus and the surrounding Lehigh Valley.
She said she worked with Freeman’s management team, specifically his agents, managers and publicists.
Over the last decade, Farley said she has watched event marketing shift from print-based promotions to digital-first strategies.
She said promoting an event with a celebrity of Freeman’s stature was thrilling.
“Freeman’s team has been wonderful to work with, and frankly, there weren’t any challenges with regards to promoting,” Farley said. “This particular event went really smoothly and it sold out.”
Wilson laughed as he recalled a student recognizing him around campus as “the guy who brought Morgan Freeman to Lehigh.”
Cole Wenis, ‘28, attended the Symphonic Blues experience and said he felt lucky to get a ticket from the waitlist. He said he recently became a fan of symphonic blues.
“Coincidentally, I started listening to symphonic blues last semester, so when I saw it was happening here I thought it was perfect,” Wenis said.
Students can attend events like Freeman’s for free, and Farley said Zoellner always reaches out to let students know about upcoming events.
Wilson said it’s important to invite students to learn about the behind-the-scenes aspects of project management and event production.
“We are a part of a university and learning environment, so we would want and love to have students who want to know more about what we do and see how we do it,” Wilson said.
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