“The Savannah Philharmonic is celebrating its 10th anniversary and its fifth consecutive year delighting the masses—approximately 15,000” at the annual Picnic in the Park in Forsyth Park this month, reads a Saturday (10/6) editorial in the Savannah Morning News (GA). “The Philharmonic resurrected orchestral music in Savannah [following the Savannah Symphony Orchestra’s bankruptcy in 2003]. The Philharmonic is an outgrowth of the Savannah Choral Society, spawned by five visionary leaders … conductor Peter Shannon … along with local music lovers Gretchen Ernest, Dick Platt, Melissa Emery and David Frothingham…. The Philharmonic started modestly…. The inaugural season featured just one concert. This year, the 67-piece orchestra will play 17 shows, including a two-day Holiday Pops run and a ‘Best of Broadway’ performance … The Philharmonic unquestionably excels [in] community involvement.… Fifty-four of the Philharmonic’s musicians—95 percent—participate in educating students in classical music [supplementing] public school music programs…. Says Terri O’Neil, the Philharmonic’s executive director, … ‘We really value being an educational asset. Those kids are the next generation of the Philharmonic.’ That fact will be on display this afternoon. The Picnic in the Park’s opening acts include the Savannah Classic Academy orchestra and the Savannah High School band.”
Posted October 9, 2018
In photo: Artistic Director Peter Shannon leads the Savannah Philharmonic
