Page 130 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2018

THEFINALSAY
PETER
RUBARDTMusic Director,
Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra
Music is, quite simply, one of the things that makes life worth living. From commercial jingles to contemporary pop to symphonic masterpieces of unmatched beauty and emotion, music is a powerful force in our lives every day. But within this broad field, there is an area of music that is particularly special to me: the world of live symphonic performance. The sheer visceral thrill
of hearing and seeing 70 highly trained musicians in perfect synch digging into the profound creations of the great composers, and then sharing that music with a large and appreciative audience — well that’s an experience not to be missed.
Every time I get ready for a performance, I reflect on what it takes to bring an orchestra to the
stage. There are so many moving parts! The performance dates are set 12-18 months in advance. Repertoire is selected, guest artists are contracted, the specific musicians needed for the orchestra are hired. Publicity materials are printed, tickets are sold, money is raised. Sheet music is bought or rented, parts are marked, the players practice the hard passages. On a concert weekend the musicians start arriving Friday afternoon, driving from New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Mobile, Pensacola, Hattiesburg, Meridian, and points in between.
Rehearsal starts at 4:45 p.m., and after a short dinner break we add the guest soloist; by 10:00 the performance is largely prepared. We come back Saturday afternoon for a dress rehearsal (open to the public for a reasonable
charge), and that leaves us primed for the performance at 7:00 p.m. It’s an intense process, with a joyful finale: sharing great music with the community.
Our Saturday night concerts are only a part of what the GCSO does. Our most visible events are the Sounds By The Sea concerts we play every year to honor our country’s servicemen on Memorial Day Weekend. These concerts are free to the public and end with a fireworks display.
Our other main focus is extensive music education for young people. The Gulf Coast Symphony Youth Orchestra, under the leadership of Daniel Martinez, is a proud part of our family. They play many concerts for the community as well as for their school peers, including our annual Peppermint Pops Holiday concert. The GCSO is dedicated to nurturing the players and audiences of the future.
One more very important point to make: while we do sell tickets for the concerts in the Saenger, we are very much
a non-profit organization. Every musician on stage is a professional, and is being paid to be there. Many of them have graduate degrees in performance, and all of
them have been playing their instruments since childhood. Although each of them only earns a small amount of their income from us, the total expense of so many musicians far exceeds the revenue from ticket sales. The Gulf
Coast Symphony is dedicated to serving the community through music, and we make up the difference through corporate support, operating grants, and most importantly, individual charitable contributions.
130 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • January 2018
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