January, 2012
Letter from our President
Brevard Philharmonic's 35th Anniversary Season has been spectacular so far and we are looking forward to a continuation this spring. The response to our added December concert of the Christmas portion of the Messiah presented with the Transylvania Choral Society was overwhelming. It was a sell out with standing room only and accolades from everyone who attended. A special blessing was the added support from Brevard College. The leadership of our own Dr. Portnoy and Dr. David Gresham, director of the Transylvania Choral Society, made the concert the joyous occasion that it was.
Our February 19 concert, featuring Phillip Bush at the piano playing Beethoven, will surely warm up our winter days. He has a considerable background which you have access to on our website and in our program booklet. This will certainly be a special performance, not to be missed, since it is sponsored in honor of our own Joan Yarbrough by Carole and Arthur Schreiber.
The C-Notes, our wonderful support group, enjoyed a Christmas tea and a tour of the newly restored second floor of The Silvermont Mansion, made possible by its stewards, Lee Stewart and Jan Osborne. Under the leadership of Renee Braun, its founder, C-Notes has nearly 120 members and the organization is on the move. We are very thankful to have a group providing snacks for the orchestra during breaks at dress rehearsals. The orchestra loves it! We also have other opportunities for service and can always use more help. If you have not done so already, please consider joining C-Notes.
Music in the Schools is well underway with Camerata Antiqua playing Christmas concerts for our first graders, including Brevard Academy. The Opal String Quartet completes its visit to all elementary school third grades this week. The students and teachers look forward to these programs because they are so good. The MIS spring program schedule for the Brevard Percussion Ensemble, Pyramid Brass and “An Introduction to the Orchestra” for kindergartners is all but in place. See the Music in the Schools “Events” page here on the website for the dates. Our sincere thanks to Mary Sauerteig, the musicians and our county elementary school music teachers for making this program possible. We all know that education is the key to our future
Dr. Portnoy has already begun planning for our concert season for next year, which given his record, will be consistently wonderful. Under his leadership, BP is bringing fine audiences to The Porter Center, a brightening star in the music scene of Western North Carolina. Of course, Brevard Philharmonic is one of the brilliant points of that star and you have helped to make that happen. So please help us to keep shining.
Brevard Philharmonic's fundraising letter is being mailed shortly. For our fine orchestra to continue to grow both in quality and in mission we need all the support we can get. We are an important part of the excellent quality of life we enjoy in Brevard and upholding that excellence takes constant vigil. Please think of yourselves as musical vigilantes. We will always need you to keep watch with us, for music is our “soul food.” Bon Appetit!
Jinks Ramsey
