Beaufort County Community Orchestra performs spring concert Sunday

Published 1:00 pm Sunday, April 7, 2019

 

Spring is in the air and so are the notes of the Mission Impossible Theme, “We’re Off To See The Wizard” and more from the musicians of the Beaufort County Community Orchestra.

BCCO’s spring concert is slated for Sunday at the Arts of the Pamlico’s Turnage Theatre. The concert is free to the public.

BCCO is truly a community orchestra — its musicians range in age from high school students to retirees. Some have been playing for decades; others have been picked up their instruments more recently. Mark O’Daniel is one of them. The Greenville psychiatrist is a student of orchestra conductor Chris Ellis; Ellis invited him to join BCCO and play in a group setting, according to BCCO publicist and violinist Ellen Ratcliffe.

“He said he always wanted to play a violin and finally decided to go for it at the age of 51,” Ratcliffe said.

HIGH NOTE: Members of the Beaufort County Community Orchestra gathered Thursday night to rehearse their spring concert at the Turnage Theatre. Pictured is flutist Beth Hardin. (Vail Stewart Rumley/Daily News)

The orchestra was founded by the late Doris Hamilton; in addition to that legacy, Hamilton started many local students on their musical paths, including several who became professional musicians, according to Ratcliffe.

BCCO invites all musicians to join them, and this spring has welcomed new members in the brass and woodwind sections. Rehearsals take place at First Presbyterian Church in Washington, where they meet weekly to rehearse for two performances a year—in the spring and in the winter.

Ratcliffe said this spring concert covers a variety of genres and styles, “from Beethoven to Blue Tango,” along with selections from “The King and I,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “Summertime” from Broadway’s “Porgy and Bess,” featuring solo vocalist Karen Clayton.

Sunday’s concert is at 3 p.m. The Turnage Theatre is located at 150 W. Main St. in Washington.