“One of the best parts of holding the title of Assistant Conductor is how much community engagement the position affords,” writes Deanna Tham, assistant conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony, in Sunday’s (12/1) Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL). Tham will conduct the Jacksonville Symphony’s annual “First Coast Nutcracker” performances this month, featuring professional dancers and young dancers from the Jacksonville area. “I get to travel … and share the treasures of the score with people who may not have thought to step into the hall. This also includes collaborations with other community organizations and art forms…. One of the oldest and most visceral forms of arts collaboration is the one between music and dance…. The First Coast Nutcracker production in Jacksonville is the only local production that stages the work with live symphonic music. This creates an energy and excitement…. For many young dancers, this will be the first time they dance to live sound…. For the seasoned dancers, we create the distinctive experience of being subject to each other’s creativity, experience and artistic lens…. If you listen and watch carefully, the audience is drawn into this relationship as well—a remarkable buzzing in the air of people connecting, sharing and understanding each other.”
Posted December 2, 2019
