REDLAND Sinfonia will mark four decades of bringing live orchestral music to the community with a reunion dinner and starinspired anniversary concert at Redland Performing Arts Centre (RPAC) this month.
The ensemble in residence at RPAC will host its 40th anniversary dinner on September 4, followed by Across the Stars concert at 6pm on September 12.
President and inaugural member Rosina McDonnell-Tucker said the anniversary was a full-circle moment for an orchestra that had become central to her life.
“I have been in the orchestra for two-thirds of my life. I met and married my husband through the orchestra and the orchestra played at our wedding,” she said.
McDonnell-Tucker plays percussion, clarinet and STAR-INSPIRED: Redland Sinfonia celebrates the orchestra’s 40th anniversary. saxophone, while husband John plays trumpet and timpani.
At one stage, six members of their family performed with the orchestra, including children Naomi on double bass, Isaac on bassoon and Amos on trombone, as well as John’s brother Chris on French horn.
“The nicest thing is the sense of community and of family. That is what has kept me here,” McDonnell-Tucker said.
The anniversary dinner will bring together friends, players, supporters and families, with four of the orchestra’s five artistic directors and several of its past presidents expected to attend.
Former directors Peter Francis, Phil Davis and Graeme Denniss will attend alongside current director Nicky Griffith.
Presidents McDonnell-Tucker, Heather Francis, Andrea Slater and Marlene Balford are also expected, while Phillip Taylor and Brian Johnson are unable to attend.
Originally known as the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, the group was the brainchild of late Redland Shire chairman Merv Genrich.
Music teachers from Cleveland High School attended the first orchestral meeting, including classroom music teacher Carlie Nisbett, who still performs with Sinfonia alongside daughter Amy on bassoon.
The anniversary concert, Across the Stars, will take audiences on an orchestral adventure inspired by the solar system, blending classical favourites with moviethemed music.
The winner of the inaugural Eugene Pederson $1000 bursary will be announced during the concert
