Jacksonville Symphony Musicians Spread Music Abroad
The Jacksonville Symphony ended its 2021/22 season on June 11, 2022, with a grand finale of Beethoven’s Ninth: Ode to Joy. The concert, conducted by Music Director Courtney Lewis, featured a quartet of star vocalists, the Symphony Chorus, and the world premiere of Tarik O’Regan’s Jacksonville Symphony commission, Trances. With the first performance of the symphony’s 2022/23 season starting in September, many of the orchestra’s musicians packed their suitcases and embarked on rejuvenating adventures that fuel their passions for music and travel over the summer.
Jacksonville Symphony musicians Ellen Caruso Olson, violist, and her husband Eric Olson, principal oboist, created the San Marco Chamber Music Society (SMCMS) in 2008. The chamber group presents free concerts to the community as a way of sharing musical appreciation and educational opportunities about music. During the 2021/22 season, SMCMS put on seven concerts and renewed their musical exchange with the Adderbury Ensemble in England, where SMCMS hosted performances with the English group in Jacksonville before touring in the United Kingdom.
In June, SMCMS traveled to the United Kingdom. The Olsons along with clarinetist Patrick Graham went to Oxford, England for six days and then spent four days in London. The group performed several concerts at world-class venues in the Oxford area including a 13th-century church in Witney and the Holywell Music Room in Oxford—built in 1748 and the oldest dedicated performance space in Europe. SMCMS also performed concerts in Adderbury, High Wycombe, St. Barnabas in Ealing, and the Grosvenor Chapel in downtown London. “This is an exciting venture, our third international tour,” said Eric Olson. “We look forward to sharing our mostly American program overseas in England!”
To learn more about SMCMS and its international tour, visit www.sanmarcochambermusic.org.
Ken Every, principal timpanist of the Jacksonville Symphony, will be taking his annual trip to Wyoming in August to perform his 32nd season with the Grand Teton Music Festival. This premier music festival conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles features award-winning musicians from orchestras around the world and takes place over an eight-week season. Its concert hall is in Teton Village at the base of its ski resort, which is the entryway to the Grand Teton National Park.
“Performing at the Grand Teton Music Festival has been one of the highlights of my career. Every summer, I get to spend time in the mountains and reconnect with old friends,” says Every. “The level is extremely high, so of course, I’m well prepared and in top shape, but there’s also time for hiking and activities on the river, as well as catching up with my festival family, many of whom I know from school and other festivals.”
As part of his annual trip, Every and his wife will fly to Salt Lake City and spend a week before and after the festival outside of Park City enjoying the solitude and scenery of the mountains.
Many other Jacksonville Symphony musicians are also spreading their love of music through traveling and performing in venues across the globe all while preparing for the symphony’s most robust and exceptional season ahead.
For the Symphony’s 2022/23 season, visit jaxsymphony.org or call (904) 354-5547.
