Charlotte Symphony takes to the airwaves

The Charlotte Symphony will reach far beyond the walls of the Belk Theater on Friday, taking to the airwaves and the Internet with the opening concert of its Classics season. 

WDAV-FM will broadcast the music live as the orchestra's music director, Christopher Warren-Green, leads a night of Beethoven. For an orchestra that rarely travels far from its home venues, this is a rare opportunity to reach listeners who are usually beyond its reach. 

"Our ability to broadcast select concerts, through our partnership with WDAV, helps us fulfill our mission to serve our whole community and reach a broader audience with powerful music," the orchestra's interim president, Robert Stickler, said in a statement.

Friday's broadcast will begin at 7 p.m., when Frank Dominguez, WDAV's program director, interviews Warren-Green from the stage. Announcers Mike McKay and Matt Rogers will take over at concert time, when the orchestra will play Beethoven's "Coriolan" Overture, Piano Concerto No. 4 -- with Brazilian pianist Arnaldo Cohen as the soloist -- and Symphony No. 4. 

WDAV says it's planning to be back at the Belk Theater in May, when the orchestra caps off its season with Beethoven's Ninth.