“It turns out, small towns have orchestras,” writes Samuel Barbour in Monday’s (6/4) Times (Ottawa, Illinois). “I had the pleasure of seeing the Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra perform a few weeks ago in Oglesby, at Illinois Valley Community College.… The concert was a very special one—the symphony’s final performance with conductor Lucia Matsos, who has led the ensemble through the past nine seasons…. Although I think we’re very fortunate to have an orchestra in the Illinois Valley, it is surprisingly common in the United States. According to a 2016 report from Southern Methodist University’s National Center of Arts Research, and the League of American Orchestras, there were 1,224 performing orchestras in the US in 2014, playing 28,000 events with a total attendance of 25 million, and contributing $1.8 billion to the US economy. About two-thirds of those orchestras have annual operating budgets less than $300,000—which is to say, most orchestras are community orchestras, like the IVSO…. Orchestras are a kind of metaphor for community—a diversity of talents and interests coming together in a shared experience, creating something beautiful…. Music isn’t just on the radio—it’s a vital community resource.”
Posted June 5, 2018
