UPSTATE — On Feb. 6, Foothills Philharmonic will resume its season with an Inaugural Chamber Orchestra Concert at Riverside Baptist Church in Greer, an event designed to showcase smaller scale works written for orchestra.
“This event is a delightful change of pace, as it offers to our audience a lighter evening of smaller works that they would not usually have the chance to hear,” they said.
Foothills Philharmonic’s vision statement is educate, enrich entertain our upstate community. This upcoming year, they will be performing 11 concerts in Greer (three masterworks, six chamber concerts, a pops concert, the Christmas concert, and the Chamber Orchestra Concert). They will also be hosting an instrument petting zoo, an art sale, a food drive, a Toys for Tots Drive, as well as a solo competition for high school students.
“The beginning of a new year is always an exciting time to look forward and see what new things are in store,” they said. “This month we will be hosting our Future Stars Scholarship Competition, with the announcement of the winner to be made on our final Masterworks concert in March (March 26). In February, we plan to have our Chamber Orchestra Concert (Feb. 5), the newest addition to our offerings. Also that month, we will be hearing our string quartet in concert at Edward R Driggers City of Greer Center for the Arts (Feb. 26).”
March and April will be a busy two month stretch for the group, as they will hear their Woodwind Quintet give their first ever stand alone concert during the season (March 12). The following week, the orchestra will be performing their final Masterworks concert of the season (March 26). Finally, they will be holding their Chamber Selections Concert at Edward R. Driggers City of Greer Center for the Arts on April 9. This concert features the different Chamber groups of the orchestra in a fun performance for all.
The final concert day of the season brings a fun conclusion to the season with their Pops Celebration Concert on April 30. Also at this concert, they will be holding an instrument petting zoo for all of the children in attendance to touch and try out all of the instruments of the orchestra. A drawing at the end of the concert allows the winner to conduct the orchestra on the final number of the season.
Performing in the Upstate since 2000, Foothills Philharmonic is committed to providing high-quality, classical music performances to the community free of charge. The orchestra is an all-volunteer orchestra made up of accomplished non-professional musicians from the Upstate region of South Carolina.
Orchestra membership includes individuals from many walks of life including part-time musicians, teachers, lawyers, business professionals, and homemakers. Kory Vrieze is the Orchestra’s Artistic Director and Conductor.
Membership in the Foothills Philharmonic is open to amateur and professional musicians. Training in youth orchestra, college orchestra, or professional orchestra, in the Greenville Concert Band or an equivalent band is suggested as necessary experience. For more information about joining the orchestra, interested parties should contact our personnel manager at foothillspersonnel@foothillsphil.org.
For more information about concerts, or about the Foothills Philharmonic Orchestra, visit foothillsphilharmonic.org., or call the office at 864-326-5780.