A Grammy award-winning guitarist, a documentary screening and a rich orchestral sound were all features of this year’s Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra’s fall concert, “Music of Nature and Myth.” Sound reverberated through Stewart Theatre as parents, students and supporters gathered to watch the nature-inspired performance in celebration of the 100th anniversary of National Parks on Sunday.

Orchestral conductor and professor Peter Askim conducted the Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra on Sunday. Askim is the conductor of both the Raleigh Chamber Orchestra and Civic Symphony. He chose to honor the National Park system by choosing compositions based upon natural elements, such as mystical creatures.

“I have lived all over, and when I was living in Hawaii, the national parks were so key to living there and experiencing nature,” Askim said. “A lot of groups are doing anniversary themes, and music and nature go together.”

NC State is home to two student orchestras, the Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra and the Raleigh Civic Symphony. The Civic Chamber Orchestra is the smaller of the two groups and was founded in 2000. Askim has been conducting at NC State for three years, with masters and doctoral degrees from Yale University and the University of Texas at Austin.

Each orchestra has one performance per semester, along with practice sessions to prepare for the performances. The Raleigh Chamber Orchestra had two and a half hour practice sessions once a week since the beginning of the semester to prepare for the fall concert.

Askim notes that one of his goals is to target a wide audience through their performances of compelling music.

“Music means different things to different people,” Askim said. “One of the things we try to do is make really interesting music that people who are experts can enjoy but also people who have never picked up an instrument.”

Grammy award-winning guitarist Jeff Peterson was featured as a solo artist at the performance. Peterson is a well-known “slack key” guitarist in Hawaii and beyond. Slack key guitar is a genre of guitar music that originated from Hawaii and is distinguished by practicing open tuning.  

“We will be playing a solo with the orchestra that Peterson wrote,” Askim said. “This was the first time anyone has done that, written a piece for slack key guitar and orchestra. It’s based on three volcanoes in Hawaii and their national parks.”

Peterson’s solo CD, ”Maui on My Mind,” was recognized as the Slack Key Album of the Year in 2010. In 2005, Peterson and collaborators won the award for their album titled “Slack Key Guitar, Volume 2,” which was the first Grammy award for best Hawaiian recording. Askim played bass with Peterson in Hawaii when he knew him as a local guitarist who was, at the time, also a barista.

The concert featured four pieces. The first two pieces were influenced by nature through the idea of myth/folktale, and the third piece was a performance of Virgil Thomson’s compositions featured in film “The Plow that Broke the Plains,” which is a documentary about the Dust Bowl. This piece featured a WRAL anchor, Bill Leslie, who narrated alongside the documentary, along with the film screening in the background of the performance.

The fourth piece was the world premiere of Peterson’s latest composition for slack key guitar and orchestra, which featured three Hawaiian nature-inspired movements.

Robert Davezac, concert coordinator, helped with the logistics of the performance. One of the three concert coordinators at NC State, Davezac works on scheduling, logistics, public relations and the marketing behind concert put on by the music department.

According to Davezac, Askim purchases newer music, which makes the orchestras stand out from groups that play more traditional music.

“Each semester Askim pushes new works, usually composed after 2000,” Davezac said. “Fairly often he is able to have the composer come and speak beforehand. Jeff’s a great guitar player, and guitar players don’t play together very often. It will be cool to see something new, mixed in with the orchestra.”

The crowd listened intently, as the famous slack key guitarists’ performance was enthralling. Cell phones were stashed away and conversations ceased as the music filled Stewart Theatre.

According to Askim, the best part about putting on these performances is watching reality stand still as the music consumes him, along with the audience.

“I think I live for that moment when we’re in the middle of the performance and everything is happening right then,” Askim said. “We spend our whole lives and hours rehearsing, and it’s all to get to that moment when everything disappears.”

The Raleigh Civic Symphony will be performing Shakespeare-inspired compositions at its fall performance, “400 Years Since Shakespeare,” which will be held in Stewart Theatre on Nov. 20 at 4 p.m.