Alton Symphony and Alton Youth Symphony to Perform Taylor Swift Tribute Concert

In Tuesday’s (9/10) Telegraph (Godfrey, Illinois), Jill Moon writes, “For an orchestra to play rock, pop, or classical music isn’t all that much different, said the most recent Alton Youth Symphony conductor Abbi Knoche, who now will conduct for the brand new Riverbend Community Orchestra. Knoche, the Alton School District orchestra director of 11 years at North and East elementary schools, as well as at Alton Middle School, explained the nuance before the benefit concert with ‘Taylor Made: A Tribute to Taylor Swift’ for the Alton Symphony Orchestra and the Alton Youth Symphony. The two orchestral nonprofits will join [tribute band] Taylor Made’s singer Courtney Diamond and backing band for three songs … on Friday, Sept. 13, at Lewis and Clark Community College’s Hatheway Cultural Center … All proceeds benefit the Alton Youth Symphony and Alton Symphony Orchestra…. ‘I wouldn’t classify [playing rock or classical music] as harder or easier, similarities between musicians still exist,’ Knoche said … ‘They both want to engage the audience and bring them into the music. In a traditional orchestral setting, it’s all acoustic, there’s no sound technician. It’s about how to perform blending those different types of instruments together.’ ”