Wyoming’s Fremont Symphony Orchestra, with Music Director Rebecca Murdock on the podium. Photo source: Fremont Symphony Orchestra.
In Wednesday’s (12/3) Wyoming Tribune Eagle (Cheyenne, Wyoming), Katie Klingsporn writes, “The musicians seated on stage, ranging in age from about 12 to 80, included college students, nurses, retirees, veterans, siblings and outdoor educators…. They turned their collective gaze to … Rebecca Murdock, [who] lifted her delicate baton, and the music began. Murdock doesn’t fit the typical conductor mold. She is female, for one, in a position long dominated by men…. The orchestra played. The performance, tight and polished, earned standing ovations. The scene could unfold in any number of American cities, but it’s less expected in small-town Wyoming. Fremont Symphony Orchestra, based in Lander, has fielded an orchestra in a town of less than 10,000 people for decades. Today it performs two full orchestral concerts a year and brings world-class soloists to the stage as guests to play alongside the 30-odd resident musicians…. How does the Fremont Symphony Orchestra do it? It’s got a few things in its favor, the most notable being Murdock … She has been an integral part of the group for its entire 40-year history, as a cellist, as conductor, as private music instructor and as the behind-the-scenes director … She is uncomfortable with too much credit, however. Musicians, residents, business owners and community groups have supported the symphony over the years.”
