Frankfort — The National Symphony Orchestra will perfform next February in Somerset and five other Kentucky cities as part of its American Residency program—selecting one state each year to host the orchestra.

The announcement was made in the Capitol Rotunda by First Lady Jane Beshear Wednesday. The Somerset performance will take place on Feb. 24 at the Center for Rural Development and will be the last in the series.

“We’re just delighted—it’s a fantastic opportunity,” said Dianna Winstead, the associate director of Arts, Culture and Events at the Center for Rural Development in Somerset. “This is an opportunity that we might not otherwise be able to have without our partnership with the Kentucky Arts Council.”

The residency program is supported through other organizations—principally the Kennedy Center and the U.S. Department of Education—and the proceeds of ticket sales will be used to support Kentucky arts organizations.

The orchestra will also perform at the Kentucky Center for the Arts in Louisville on Feb. 17, at the Florence Baptist Church in Florence on Feb. 19; at the RiverPark Center in Owensboro on Feb. 20; at the Carson Four Rivers Center in Paducah on Feb. 21; and at the University of Kentucky Singletary Center for the Arts in Lexington on Feb. 23.

In addition to those concert performances, NSO will conduct educational outreach programs in Louisville on Feb. 18 and a Young People’s Concert in either Paducah or Louisville. In all NSO will provide seven performances in the six cities.

“It gives us great pleasure to accept the invitation of the Kentucky Arts Council to make the state our home for the 2011 American Residency,” said Rita Shapiro, NSO executive director.

Lindy Casebier, deputy secretary for the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, said Somerset was chosen because the rural development center has the facilities to accommodate the orchestra and because the cabinet wanted to schedule performances and workshops in every congressional district. Winstead said the center hopes to videoconference the workshops and education activities to schools throughout the center’s 42-county service area.

Casebier said the schedule is set up so orchestra members can conduct workshops on the day of arrival before they perform that night.

“We are a small community, but we have a lot of support of the arts and lovers of orchestral music,” Winstead said. “This is the most fantastic thing that could happen for music lovers in our community.”

NSO activities will continue in Kentucky even after the orchestra leaves following its February performances and activities. As many as six Kentucky students will be chosen for scholarships to the 2011 Summer Music Institute for four weeks of study, rehearsal and coaching sessions. One Kentucky music teacher will be selected for an individually designed professional development program in Washington, D.C. And a Kentucky composer will be chosen to create a musical work that will premier at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The first lady said the concerts and education programs “will have a wonderful impact on communities across the commonwealth. We are very excited about the National Symphony Orchestra coming to Kentucky. It is an incredible opportunity for all the citizens of the commonwealth.”