| 1997-1998 Performance Season | Season / Concert Ticket Sales | About The GSO | GSO Musicians | The GSO Board of Directors | Gifts and Donations | Donors and Sponsors |
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| About The GSO |
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| " To evolve as a highly regarded professional Symphony Orchestra, dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of music throughout Alachua County and the State of Florida through performance and education." |
The Gainesville Symphony Orchestra was founded by a group of local musicians in 1983. Dr. Raymond Chobaz, conductor of the University of Florida Orchestra, was invited to be the Music Director and Conductor of the Gainesville Chamber Orchestra. In 1995, the Orchestra's name changed to the Gainesville Symphony Orchestra reflecting more accurately its size and stature. The Orchestra consists of professional musicians from the community and some gifted university and high school students.
The season's concerts are presented in several series. First there is the CELEBRATION SERIES. This is a series of three concerts at the Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Florida and at Memorial Auditorium. Both internationally acclaimed soloists as well as highly regarded local soloists perform with the Orchestra. The well-known violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and Gainesville's own acclaimed pianist Kevin Sharpe, who teaches at the University of Florida, are two examples of the wonderful talent that have played with our Orchestra.
The two-concert FAMILY SERIES includes the Children's Concert and the family-oriented "Pops-on-the-Lawn" concert. The 1995 March Through The Orchestra was very popular with the children, parents, teachers and all participants. At the 1996 Dance Through The Orchestra, the Saturday morning audience doubled. The 1997 concert was A Safari Through the Orchestra complete with life-size animal statues and a live Florida Panther. The 1996 POPS concert held at Columbia North Florida Regional Medical Center included Broadway show tunes. A similar concert entitled The Music of Star Wars - A Sci-Fi Celebration is scheduled for April 1997 with picnic and costume contests as well as a children's dress-up contest.
Another feature of our 1997-98 Season is the MUSIC AT MID-MORNING presentations at the Village Retirement Community. These one-hour music appreciation programs begin at 10 a.m. on the first Tuesday of Fall and Winter months. This year's series is entitled From Sackbutts to Starwars: A Brief History of Western Music. We also produce a number of other educational outreach programs.
Serving approximately 10,000 local residents annually, the repertoire of the Gainesville Symphony Orchestra ranges from works of the Baroque era to twentieth-century music. Composers range from Bach and Beethoven to American composers like Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copeland.
