If you have one last big performance to give, you might as well perform something memorable. When pianist Rita Fandrich was asked by the Imperial Symphony Orchestra to be a guest soloist, the longtime Lakeland resident chose to perform Camille Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2. The fiendishly difficult Saint-Saëns concerto, one of the French master’s […]
Tag: ISO
Posted inA & E
Imperial Symphony to Present Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’
The symbolic struggle between light and darkness is employed by numerous world religions, as well as in Freemasonry – a society to which the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) belonged. So it’s fitting that in his last opera, “The Magic Flute,” he brings this struggle to life in a fantastical story that has […]
Posted inCity Hall
City’s Funding for Arts: Stable and Fair?
Arts are generally regarded as important to the health and economic climate of a city, and Lakeland city commissioners devote a quarter of a million dollars a year to helping non-profit arts organizations stay afloat. But like all questions of using taxpayer funds, commissioners have to make tough decisions about which organizations are supported. In […]
Posted inA & E
Symphony, Choral Society Collaborate for Handel’s ‘Messiah’
There are numerous stories about George Frideric Handel’s majestic oratorio, “Messiah.” By Handel’s own account, he wrote it in 24 feverish days. After a performance, a nobleman remarked that the audience had enjoyed the work. “I should be disappointed, my lord, if I merely entertained them,” Handel is said to have replied. “I desired to […]
Posted inA & E
Maestro and Student Reunited: Aaron Marsh Leads Copeland in Symphony Concert
Imperial Symphony Orchestra Conductor Mark Thielen has shared the stage with a wide range of artists over the years, but this week marks the first time he and the ISO will perform in concert with a rock band led by a former student of his.
Posted inA & E, People
From Rodeo to Opera: ‘That’s Lakeland’
Amy Wiggins has moved from promoting the Chamber of Commerce` to leading the Imperial Symphony Orchestra, but she’s still hawking Lakeland as a place of entertainment options ranging from rodeo to opera. In today’s Monday Profile in The Ledger, she spoke of a recent weekend that included both events: “There is so much going on here, there […]
Posted inPeople
Amy Wiggins’ Symphony Move Strikes a Happy Note
Facebook Friends are congratulating Amy Wiggins on her move from vice president of communications at the Lakeland Chamber to executive director of the Imperial Symphony Orchestra. Notes Brian Hall in the comments on The Ledger’s article about the transition: Wow, good choice. Filling Katie Daughtrey‘s shoes is a challenge for anybody, but I suspect Amy Wiggins […]