Covalence: trumpet and piano in concert
The Cherokee County Arts Council presents Covalence, a trumpet and piano duo of Mark Clodfelter and Rebecca Wilt, in concert on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at 7 p.m. at First United Methodist Church of Murphy. All attendees are invited to a reception at the Cherokee County Arts Council after the concert.
Covalence takes its name from the covalent bond, where atoms share valence electrons. Clodfelter and Wilt use that image to describe their approach to trumpet and piano repertoire: shared responsibility, mutual responsiveness, and equal investment in the musical whole. Rather than the traditional soloist and accompanist model, they perform as a true chamber partnership, moving through classical repertoire, reimagined popular music, and new works written for the duo. The International Trumpet Guild Journal has praised the pair for "extreme musical sensitivity" and a "vibrant and expressive performance."
Mark Clodfelter has performed on four continents across a 40-year career, sharing the stage with Josh Groban, The Steep Canyon Rangers, Doc Severinson, Gladys Knight, Ray Charles, and many others. He has held faculty positions at Mars Hill University, the University of Kentucky, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the University of Delaware.
Rebecca Wilt is a collaborative pianist who has performed with musicians from the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the National Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and with vocalists from the Metropolitan Opera and Covent Garden. She studied with John Wustman, longtime pianist for Luciano Pavarotti.
Hear the duo on YouTube:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1m8-CqrPZ-NaCnSR4ul74QtCfLFgvSlr
Event details
Date: Saturday, August 8, 2026
Time: 7 p.m., with reception to follow at the Cherokee County Arts Council
Location: First United Methodist Church of Murphy, 73 Valley River Avenue, Murphy, NC 28906
Reception: Cherokee County Arts Council, 33 Valley River Avenue, Murphy, NC 28906
Admission: $15 general, $10 CCAC members, free for students. Tickets at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/arts-in-appalachia-covalence
Presented by: Cherokee County Arts Council, as part of the Arts in Appalachia concert series.
Contact: Rachel Watson, director@cherokeeartscouncil.org, (828) 233-5624
The Arts in Appalachia series is supported by the Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
