If people still think that going to the symphony means sitting through a long barrage of familiar classical tunes, they’re going to the wrong symphony.
Members of the Murfreesboro Symphony Orchestra have spent the last year offering a new twist to symphonic music. Under the direction of Jeff Reed, who undertook the role in July 2007, the MSO famously blends pop music and other genres with classical music to produce a sound uncommon in a typical symphony hall.
Anyone who saw a performance this season such as “RetroMadness: The Music of the Beatles” in October or “That’s Italian!” in January will likely be able to identify what sets the MSO apart from other orchestras.
“The music is tied together by a theme,” Reed said, “which most orchestras don’t do.”
Over the past few years, orchestra attendance has been moderate. Although the attendance is on the rise, MSO President Phillip Johnson said he believes there is still a lot of work to be done to make the symphony a bigger part of Murfreesboro culture. Johnson believes that the MSO must increase its base of support in the community, he added, and thinks that this season will take the symphony in the right direction.
“The goal this year was to resurrect the symphony,” Johnson said. “We think we made a good stride toward that, but we want to build our base of support.”
Reed is also hopeful for the future of the orchestra. Since he was brought in as conductor, tickets sales are on the rise.
“Although attendance has dramatically improved,” Reed said, “we need to continue to move forward.”
Both Reed and Johnson agree that moving forward will involve selling more season subscriptions and tickets are hopeful the sales will be made to a younger demographic.
“We hope that programming and word-of-mouth will get a younger demographic involved,” Johnson said.
Reaching out to younger members of the community is a familiar practice to the MSO. The orchestra, which serves eight counties including Rutherford, performs an annual Children’s Concert and provides music education programs within the community. Johnson said he hopes the MSO will become even more involved in the community by taking a more active, hands-on approach.
“We would like to start a community center that encompasses all types of art programs,” Johnson said.
In the meantime, the orchestra will focus on its last performance of the 2007-2008 concert season. “A Night with Oscar” concludes this season’s concert series with a collection of music from a number of feature films. The music of the evening will encompass decades of cinema and will include several movie genres, including westerns, love stories and musicals.
Reed said he hopes to show the audience that music from films and the orchestra goes hand in hand.
“The average person is exposed to orchestra through movies,” Reed said. “They just don’t realize it.”
“A Night with Oscar” will be March 10 at First United Methodist Church on Thompson Lane. Reed will kick off the evening at 6:45 p.m. with preconcert discussion of the music to be performed. The concert will begin at 7:30. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for students and are available through the symphony office, which may be reached at 615-898-1862.
