Community orchestra plays spring concert

Published 8:42 pm Friday, April 17, 2015

VAIL STEWART RUMLEY | DAILY NEWS STRING SECTION: The string section of the Beaufort County Community Orchestra practiced Thursday night at First Presbyterian Church in Washington. The orchestra will host its spring concert at the Turnage Theatre in Washington Sunday.

VAIL STEWART RUMLEY | DAILY NEWS
STRING SECTION: The string section of the Beaufort County Community Orchestra practiced Thursday night at First Presbyterian Church in Washington. The orchestra will host its spring concert at the Turnage Theatre in Washington Sunday.

“Sinfonia Venezia,” “Cassatio in G,” music from “Pride and Prejudice,” with a little bit of Harry Potter thrown in for good measure — this is a sample of what the Beaufort County Community Orchestra will offer to its listeners Sunday.

The spring concert for the orchestra takes place on the Turnage Theatre stage at 3 p.m. and will be conducted by Chris Ellis. The concert is free and open to the public.

The orchestra is comprised of mostly amateur musicians — those who learned an instrument, likely in childhood, and have continued to hone their musical skills. BCCO plays two concerts a year, one in the spring and one at Christmas, a highly popular event.

Sunday’s concert represents the second time the orchestra has played at the Turnage Theatre, a venue made for just such a purpose, according to Joey Toler, executive director of the Beaufort County Arts Council.

“The community orchestra is supported in part by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council grassroots fund and we administer that grant. So therefore, I feel that we can present them for free at our own facility, whereas before they would have had to rent it,” Toler said.

“And acoustically, I think (the theatre) presents the orchestra so much more professionally,” he added.

In addition to works by Antonio Salieri, Joseph Haydn, Carlos Gardel and an excerpt from Handel’s “Messiah,” “I Know That My Redeemer,” the program includes the “Pride and Prejudice” piece by Dario Marianelli, a Welsh folk song and the theme from “Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix,” by Nicholas Hooper and John Williams.

For Toler, the concert, and the association between the two organizations, is indicative of how the arts council is using the Turnage Theatre to create a regional arts center, open to all, he said.

“This is part of the arts council’s effort to present a variety of programming. And this is a free program to the public by one of our thriving local arts organizations,” Toler said.

The Turnage Theatre is located at 150 W. Main St. in Washington.