Carolina Pro Musica: According to Burney: Music ancient and modern
October 12 @ 8:00 pm
When: October 12, 2026 @ 8 PM
Where: Abbey Basilica, Belmont, NC
All concerts are free. Donations are welcome.
Historian, critic, composer and editor, Charles Burney was one of the first to write a survey of music history in the English language. Join with his spirit of curiosity and hear Charles Burney’s A General History of Music (publ. 1776 – 1789) come to life with music from plainchant to the Reformation and beyond.
Anne O’Byrne, soprano, makes her first appearance with Carolina Pro Musica.
Soprano Anne O’Byrne hails from Dublin, Ireland. As a young singer, she joined the Irish Radio Choir broadcasting weekly on national radio. She was a chorister at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, and gained scholarships to attend the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, before embarking on a career in opera and concert. Anne has worked with renowned conductors, such as Sir Simon Rattle and Sir Andrew Davis; with Early Music specialists Harry Bicket OBE, Harry Christophers CBE, and Dame Emma Kirkby: and famed producers, such as Sir Jonathan Miller and Sir Trevor Nunn. She has sung over twenty leading roles around the world – including Poppea in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Oriana in Handel’s ‘Amadigi’, Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte; Suzanna in Le Nozze di Figaro; and Belinda in Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas. She has created roles in new operas for the Covent Garden and Wexford International Festivals, and has recorded for the BBC, NPR, and Irish Television and Radio.
Since moving to the United States in 2002 with her husband David Fisk (CEO and president of Charlotte Symphony) and their two children, Anne has performed for Virginia Opera, Capital Opera, the Richmond Symphony, RVA Baroque, and many East Coast choral societies. She has sung for luminaries including Presidents, Prime Ministers and the Royal families of England and Monaco.
Ms. O’Byrne has a thriving Voice Studio in Charlotte. Many of her students are top prize winners in national competitions.
