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[av_heading heading='2021 Season Announcement' tag='h1' link_apply='' link='manually,http://' link_target='' style='blockquote modern-quote modern-centered' size='72' subheading_active='subheading_above' subheading_size='15' margin='' margin_sync='true' padding='10' color='' custom_font='' av-medium-font-size-title='' av-small-font-size-title='' av-mini-font-size-title='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' av_uid='av-kiyuzo7n' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']
ANNOUNCEMENT
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The Long Bay Symphony presents its 2021 Classical Series being held at First Presbyterian Church! Beginning in January, four special programs will be introduced throughout the year. Virtual tickets will be available for purchase for each concert. Availability for in-person attendance will be announced as more information is available.

Strings: Romantic and Modern

Sunday, January 31st, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.

Tickets on Sale – December 28th

A concert exploring the wide expressive range of the string orchestra. The lush Romanticism of Italian opera master Giacomo Puccini’s somber elegy, Chyranthemums, is contrasted by the neo-Baroque dance-like elegance of the “Holberg” Suite by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. The musical character of the great Eastern European Jewish tradition is beautifully conveyed in Meira Warshauer’s Yiddish Fantasy, and both the progressive and accessible sides of Aaron Copland’s music are explored in his Nonet and the famous “Hoedown” from the ballet Rodeo (in the composer’s own arrangement for strings).

Going for Baroque

Sunday, February 21st, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.

Tickets on Sale – January 25th

Great classic pieces from the Baroque era are highlighted in this program, including Suite No. 1 from the beloved Water Music by George Friderich Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite in C, and concertos by the Italian master of works for solo performer and orchestra, Antonio Vivaldi, with Long Bay Symphony members as guest soloists. PLUS, as an added feature, a select group of Long Bay Youth Symphony musicians will join the LBS in this performance!

Stravinsky’s The History of a Soldier

Sunday, March 28th, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.

Tickets on Sale – February 22nd

The iconic 20th-century composer’s dramatic setting of a classic Russian folk tale about a young soldier who sells his soul (represented by his violin) to the devil. Stravinsky, who ascended to fame through brilliantly colorful ballet scores for large orchestra, demonstrates in this work an astounding economy of means made necessary by the social and economic challenges surrounding the First World War.

From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

Sunday, April 18, 2021, at 4:00 p.m.

Tickets on Sale – March 22nd

A program serving up pieces in a fascinating variety of styles, from Romantic opera composer Richard Wagner’s unique miniature work, Siegfried Idyll (a musical tribute to the birth of his son), to Façade, an edgy yet charming setting by Sir William Walton of Dame Edith Sitwell’s humorously outrageous poetry. Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas weaves a wild pastiche of motives from native folk tunes in Ocho por Radio, while Gustav Mahler wonderfully conveys the essence of the German folk spirit in his song settings from Des Knaben Wunderhorn.

Virtual Tickets - As virtual tickets go on sale for each concert, purchasing will be made available from our ticketing partner, TicketSpice. Direct links to purchase virtual tickets will be found on Long Bay Symphony's website, social media accounts, and by e-mail. Viewing access will be sent by e-mail after purchase, and only active for the date of the concert.
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[av_heading heading='COVID-19 Scheduling Update' tag='h1' link_apply='' link='manually,http://' link_target='' style='blockquote modern-quote modern-centered' size='72' subheading_active='subheading_above' subheading_size='15' margin='' padding='10' color='' custom_font='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='' av-desktop-hide='' av-medium-hide='' av-small-hide='' av-mini-hide='' av-medium-font-size-title='' av-small-font-size-title='' av-mini-font-size-title='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='']
ANNOUNCEMENT
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For the safety and concern of our patrons, musicians and staff due to the growing health concerns surrounding COVID-19, the following changes to our season have been made:

One Vision: The Music of Queen has been re-scheduled for our 2020-2021 season. We hope to announce an official concert date once local and city officials announce concert policies.

Pops at Marina Park, originally scheduled for Saturday, April 4th, has been canceled by representatives from Grande Dunes with hopes to reschedule this Fall.

Storytellers: Preserving Traditions, originally scheduled for April 19, 2020 has been postponed until our 2020-21 season. More dates and details will follow.

We appreciate your understanding during this time. If any other changes are made, we will continue to updated through e-mail, our website and social media.
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We've been featured on Myrtle Beach Online! for the full article and additional information, please visit:
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2014/01/18/3960564/myrtle-beachs-long-bay-symphony.html

What may seem effortless to Long Bay Symphony audiences is the product of hours and hours of preparation, study, promotion and practice by at least twice as many players as you see upon the stage.

Just as each orchestra member’s unique contribution is critical, behind the scenes there are administrative “players” whose efforts make every note heard a reality.

As on stage, the conductor of said players is Charles Jones Evans.

“Stereotypically, people believe that I just show up, wave a baton around and tell people what to do,” Evans said. “There is something to do constantly – programming, organizing; it all has to work in a box like any other business.”

With such responsibilities, he is fortunate to have a loyal audience; impassioned volunteers; triple threat, Jessica Miller – librarian, principal oboist and Youth Orchestra manager, who “feels blessed to do what [she does]”; and Executive Director Carolyn Pittman, who brings to bear her rich professional experiences as a musician, businesswoman and entrepreneur.

As building blocks go, the importance of a listening audience cannot be overstated; simply consider the philosophical question: “if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it...”

Not an experience that the LBS need worry about as long as there are folks like Howard Olson around.

“They do a fantastic job. I am always amazed at the kinds of music they perform,” he said. “I’m not a real classical music buff; I just enjoy it.”

In part, that is because of the illuminating discussions Evans hosts pre-performance to help familiarize attendees with the composer and the music.

Olson also appreciates the value.

“It’s not expensive and from a ‘bang for your buck’ perspective you certainly get your value,” he said. “I don’t think people realize what they have to offer.”

People, perhaps, not unlike board President Lisa Davis who moved to the area about 30 years ago.

“I’m one of the examples of someone who did not know there was a symphony in Myrtle Beach,” she said. “I discovered [it] in 2011.”

She has since made it her mission to raise community awareness of the symphony.

As has Marilyn Grigas, president of the Long Bay Symphony Guild, an auxiliary group, whose events “support the symphony, its educational programs in area schools and the Youth Orchestra ... [and brings] the orchestra to the attention of the community, to broaden support, and to further music appreciation and education.”

“Having been a music teacher for 30 years, the symphony is a big passion of mine,” she said. “I’m always chatting [it] up [and] passing out brochures.”

Grigas and Davis are both quick to extol the symphony’s value, not only as part of the community culture, but for its impact on our youth.

“We really want to further music appreciation in our kids,” Grigas said.

To this end, in 2013, the guild was able to award the greatest number of scholarships for summer music programs to date; this success, in addition to continuing support of the Long Bay’s educational efforts in local schools and the Youth Orchestra.

These programs have had a profound effect; whether participants go on to become professional musicians or informed listeners.

Alexander Pons, a Youth Orchestra graduate, credits the experience with teaching him about being a leader, about proper conduct and how to work with other musicians.

“[It] is just such a fantastic orchestra. We took pride in the fact that we had this great director that had so much knowledge of music,” he said. “It’s not school, so it’s a little bit more fun and you are there for your own benefit ... I learned so many life lessons in the four years that I was in the program.”

Pons now attends the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and has played with a number of orchestras.

“My professionalism has always been commented upon,” he said.

Although he experiences a bit of surprise when people learn that his training was in Myrtle Beach, he is confident that with the “thirst for culture in this area,” and the talent devoted to it, the Youth Orchestra will soon be recognized nationally as a premier youth program.

Such praise is music to Pittman’s ears, who in addition to being passionate about the symphony’s non-quantifiable value, appreciates its quantifiable economic value. People moving here want to know what the community has to offer in terms of education and culture, and “we provide both,” she said. “The Long Bay is a first-class professional symphony orchestra.”

Had she been eavesdropping, long time supporter and volunteer Joanne Milnor would have said, “Amen.”

Admittedly, once started, she has trouble stopping when enthusing about the organization. From the Young People’s Concert for 2,000 Horry County students to Evans’ finesse to the Youth Orchestra, she runs out of adjectives well before she runs out of enthusiasm.

She did, however, manage to limit her description of LBS performances to three letters, “OMG,” and declared that everybody ought to give them a try.

Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2014/01/18/3960564/myrtle-beachs-long-bay-symphony.html#storylink=cpy

Interview on the Conway Chamber of Commerce January Business Connection with Carolyn Pittman.

 

 

Take advantage of this great offer to see a memorable concert.  Offer valid only for Sections 3 and 4.

Call 843-448-8379

Conductor Charles Evans and the Long Bay Symphony Orchestra began the 26th season of this remarkable orchestra Sunday September 29.  In the program, Evans pointed out that this season’s “Music that Inspires” will actually include three series – “…Classical, Chamber Orchestra, and, now, Pops…”

Sunday's  “Made in America” was the first of the classical series, and featured the music of five of America’s best composers.  The afternoon began with Charles Ives’s “Variations on America”, dating from 1891.  This work, originally written for large pipe organ, was orchestrated by William Schuman in 1963.  Ives’s career was unusual for a composer, in that he made his living as a successful insurance executive, doing most of his composing whenever he could.  His imagination roamed freely outside standard musical conventions, and his compositions frequently incorporated effects associated with amateur performances.  In “Variations on America”, the listener is taken on a brief journey of sorts, before the actual familiar melody is heard intact.  Evans and the Long Bay skillfully presented this engaging work, easily handling the shifting styles, rhythms, and textures which create the good natured jostling and near-cacophony of the community music making Ives wanted to celebrate.

William Schuman didn’t need to orchestrate the works of other composers to demonstrate his command of the orchestra, as is compellingly shown in his “New England Triptych” for orchestra, which is based on the works of the early American composer William Billings. Evans and the LBS held the audience’s attention with their beautiful presentation of the music’s wide differences of mood and orchestral effect. Especially powerful was the beginning of the second of the three pieces. A solemn snare drum figure, played slowly and quietly with snares off,  is soon followed by a mournful line shared by a bassoon and an English horn, and moments after that, muted strings come in almost like a halo of sound.  An orchestra of lesser caliber than the Long Bay simply couldn’t make passages like these work.

Samuel Barber’s “Essay No. 1 for Orchestra” is closest to the classical tradition, and it is interesting to note that of the five composers presented today, he is the only one who did not have any connection to popular music.  Program annotator Richard Rodda points out that Barber, having been awarded the Prix de Rome and a Pulitzer Traveling Scholarship, spent much time in Europe in the 1920s and 30s where he met musical luminaries of that time.  Rodda goes on to describe the overall sense of this work, a single movement divided into “…two large paragraphs…” in which Barber’s fine musical talent is abundantly evident.  Evans and the Long Bay clearly showed the contrast between the somber colors of the slower first section, and the lively, sparkly passages of the second, in which individual sections of the orchestra, and a number of soloists, were completely convincing. The work’s final passages present references to earlier material, and the ending is finally quiet, fading away, illustrating Barber’s classical sense of balance.

 

 

Although Aaron Copland was born and raised in New York, some of his best known works are about cowboys and the West.  Richard Rodda tells us that Copland uses two folk tunes in “Buckaroo Holiday” from “Rodeo”,  and that “…a cowgirl, tough of hide but tender of heart, searches for – and finds -  a man…”  H-m-m…how did they accomplish that in those pre-computer days? With the telegraph?  No matter.  Evans and the LBS did a terrific job with the jaunty, irregular rhythms, punchy chords, and spot-on percussion whacks.  All the sections of the orchestra were first rate in creating these humorous effects, and especially engaging were the “stop-time” passages, where a short phrase was punctuated by an edge-of-your-chair silence, until the next phrase was played. Add to this that these passages were scattered all throughout the orchestra, and played with absolute precision, and you have a vivid illustration of just how good Evans and the LBS are.  This delightful work ended the first half of the concert.

There’s no question that George Gershwin’s music displays characteristics of both the classical and popular veins. His splendid Piano Concerto in F was the entire second half of today’s program.  The featured soloist was Philip Powell, chairman of the Music Department at Coastal Carolina University.

This wonderful work follows the traditional fast-slow-fast three movement plan for concertos, but the content of each movement is distinctly Gershwin.  For example, the three ideas which open the first movement – a percussion flourish, followed by a Charleston-rhythm passage, followed soon by the entrance of the piano playing a somber theme, which moments later is re-harmonized and cast in a different light.  Or, the second movement – Gershwin’s comments in the program tell us he wanted to create a “…poetic, nocturnal atmosphere…referred to as the American blues…” which really can be heard in the mournful trumpet solo along with the quiet bluesy chords - or the third, characterized by Gershwin as “…an orgy of rhythms…keeping the same pace throughout”  - a driving, relentless, portrait of big city life.   Any place in these movements will illustrate Gershwin’s talent.

Evans , Powell, and the LBS have played this work before, and today’s performance showed their love of it.  Powell’s playing was simply superb.  His beautiful phrasing and dynamic shaping of the melodies lets a listener hear how things are really supposed to be.  In passages where the piano is somewhat covered by the orchestra, and then emerges with a brilliant flourish, Powell’s effortless technique presents these as what they are – part of a long, on-going line.  Evans drew forth from the LBS the same effects – beautiful solos, wonderful section work, all integrated with the piano for a seamless performance which brought the audience to its feet with applause and cheers.

Coming soon:  Chris Mann, October 19, and The German Romantic Spirit, November 3.

***************************************************************************

William Hamilton taught music for 28 years in the Music Department of coastal Carolina University.  He composed the music for CCU’s Alma Mater, wrote incidental music for several plays, and still activelhy plays jazz with the group U ‘n I, and CCU’s faculty jazz ensemble.

Interview with Dr. Charles Jones Evans on Business Connections sponsored by the Conway Chamber of Commerce on August 14, 2013. The host of the show is Halley Murrow Castleberry and filmed by Carolina Video Group.

Dr. Evans is talking about the 2013-2014 Symphony Season and the upcoming concerts and events.

 

This is presented by the Myrtle Beach Herald and is airing on WMBF NBC on Monday’s for 10 weeks beginning July 1st.

Our segment is an introduction to the Long Bay Symphony with Dr. Charles Jones Evans, Music Director/Conductor and Carolyn Pittman, Executive Director.

 

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