With a new conductor, executive director, name and logo, the Murfreesboro Symphony Orchestra promises to keep classical music playing in Rutherford County, while adding some unexpected elements.
“People enjoy listening to a variety of music,” said Jeffrey A. Reed, recently named the conductor and music director of the MSO.
The orchestra will begin its season by combining a rock band with the traditional symphony orchestra.
“Our first concert, just to shock everyone, will be a Beatles program at the World Outreach Church,” Reed said.
The church, located on New Salem Road, will host this performance, titled “Retromadness: The Music of the Beatles,” at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5.
The remaining four season performances? one sports-themed, another Christmas, one Italian music showcase and one featuring music from films?will be at First United Methodist Church.
Reed said he will hold true to the roots of classical music and certainly pay tribute to the masters, but he enjoys incorporating more modern, “audience-friendly” music in his programs.
“I’m not a musical snob,” he said. “The only criterion I use in selecting a program is whether the music is good. Lennon and McCartney were musical geniuses just like Beethoven, only in different ways.”
Reed founded the Bowling Green Symphony in Kentucky in 2000. He, along with his executive director Darrell G. Evans, who will join Reed in Murfreesboro, grew that organization from an idea into a successful symphony in a few years.
The duo, described by Edwards as a couple of “has-been trumpet players,” will now take the reigns of the MSO and said they see a lot of similarities in Bowling Green and Murfreesboro, pointing out both are the fastest growing cities in their respective states.
Reed said he sometimes uses more popular music as a gateway to symphonic music.
“A lot of people find they like classical music,” he said at the Rutherford County Center for the Arts. Paintings by the Murfreesboro Art League surrounded the new conductor and the collection?all for sale?will hang in the center until the end of August with all proceeds going to the MSO.
The orchestra also unveiled its new logo, created by Murfreesboro’s Navigation Advertising, in the gallery.
The ceremony truly marked the beginning of a new era for the orchestra Dr. Laurence Harvin founded 25 years ago known for years as the Tennessee Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. Harvin conducted the ensemble for a quarter of a century until his retirement last season, after which he pointed the board of directors to Bowling Green.
”The team of Reed and Edwards and their approach to programming made sense for Murfreesboro and I thought their energy as a package was a good fit,” said MSO Board President Phillip Johnson.
For more information on the orchestra’s upcoming season, visit tnphilharmonic.com.
