Brodie
We were doing a—an outdoor concert—a park concert. And I honestly can't remember exactly where it was, but the interesting thing about it was it started raining. I mean, downpour. And, uh, instead of us stopping the program, uh—I remember Andy Lane[1] was conducting the concert and he invited the audience to come under the tent [laughs]. And so we had the entire audience that was out there. Instead of being in the rain, they were under the tent with the orchestra. And we continue playing the concert [laughs].’
The, um—the early days, of course, um, were pretty tough, uh, because we didn't have a home. Um, we did concerts in various venues around the city.
Um, we, um, started of course by doing programs to—of educational quality. Both for young people's concerts, and for the opera, and for the ballet. And, um—and we started by doing those kinds of service-related kinds of things and then programs that were, uh, basically, um fee-based. So we weren't doing subscription programs as such at the very beginning. And, um, as we grew, we start doing more those kinds of things, but the venues changed quite a bit for the first three years. I think it was not until the third or fourth year that we actually were able to mount a problem in the performing arts center—Bob Carr [Performing Arts Centre].
Performing with John Williams for the opening of the Harry Potter theme park, you know, was a real thrill. There have been many, many, many great experiences performing with the Orlando Philharmonic.
The, uh—the same music that we look at in Orlando is the same music that the performers look at a New York [City, New York] in Chicago[, Illinois], and Dallas[, Texas], and Los Angeles[, California], in Berlin[, Germany], and Vienna[, Austria].
Um, when we perform [Gustav] Mahler, or [Johann] Strauss, or [Sergei] Prokofiev, or [Dmitri] Shostakovich, those are the same parts everyone are performing all over the world. The members of the orchestra are members of the community. Um, we’ve been able to, fortunate enough to told a number of additions and—and bring in some really, really good performers, so we're really fortunate for that. And all of those people have become part on the community as well.
[1] Andrew Lane.
Schillhammer
In my 13 years with the Orlando Philharmonic [Orchestra], there are so many great stories, but I think one of the really great highlights and one of the great honors bestowed upon the Orlando Philharmonic was the opportunity to play for the grand opening of Universal [Studios Florida]’s Wondrous—Harry Potter's Wondrous World.[1]
And that, in of itself, was an honor enough, but we were conducted by the great John Williams, who of course has composed all of that great music and is truly, you know, um, America's genius. As soon as he picked up his baton and started conducting, it transformed the sound of the Orlando Philharmonic. The conductor can have that. It was so inspiring for the musicians of the Orlando Philharmonic—for those of us who were there to witness it—to see the kind of music making that he could bring to the Orlando Philharmonic.
He had put his foot down. He wanted either the London Symphony [Orchestra] or the Boston Pops [Orchestra], and they were going to have to fly in these orchestras from either London[, England, United Kingdom] or Boston[, Massachusetts], and, uh, that was, those were his demands and once we sent him recordings of the orchestra and once, uh, some people from Universal came to the concerts, they knew they had a prize-winning, award-winning orchestra right here in their backyard. And he penned the most genuinely, kind, sincere complimentary letter, um, that we have ever received. He didn’t have to do that. And, um, I get goose bumps right to this day thinking about what a great thrill it was performing with John Williams.
We have had incredible success with ticket sales. It is an enormous increase. we've had double-digit growth increase in subscription sales each and every year during what has been the worst [Great] Recession in American history since the—since the Great Depression. and people have remained passionate about the programming of the Orlando Philharmonic. Our mantra is “exciting programming marketed well.”
You have to have both. We have to have exciting programming and we have to tell the story about why it’s exciting programming. I like to think and I—I do believe that every Orlando Philharmonic concert is an event. And the musicians are some of the best in the country, if not the world. I mean, our performances are as good as any American orchestra. I’ll put us up against anybody. And, uh, uh, people respect and appreciate that and they come in record numbers.
We elevated the musicians from what is generally the bottom of the totem pole and put them at the top of the totem pole, equal setting with the—with the community board of directors. Our bylaws mandate that 25 percent of the positions on the board of directors be filled by musicians in the orchestra—unheard of to this day. Most American officers have no musicians on the board on purpose. Uh, some might have one or two. Um often, they’re non-voting, and they're never on executive committee, where the real decisions are made and we break down all those barriers. We have a musician who serves on the five-member executive committee, and we talk about things open and honestly at every level, no matter how difficult it is.
Well, we have a tremendous track record of fiscal responsibility. I really give credit to the founders and to the Board of Directors. We all work together to ensure financial equilibrium each and every year. We've never had a penny of red ink.
Unidentified
Okay, now if I take that down a half step [plays trumpet].
Schillhammer
Our educational programs are something for which we’re very proud. Our young people's concerts—every year we perform 28 young people’s concerts for close to 60,000 elementary school students in Orange, Seminole, and Osceola Counties. It’s one of the largest of its kind in the country.
We also have “Tiny Tots” for daycare centers we have “Notes in Your Neighborhood” that goes into the school, primarily in those critical after school hours. We have our young composers challenge which is also very special. It started out as the Orlando Young Composers Challenge and now it's the National Young Composers Challenge.
I think that you'll find this event has all drama of a spelling bee combined with the passion of great music making.
We have adult classes. We have, uh—it’s called “Sounds of Music in Adult Music Appreciation” class we have about a hundred people who sign up every year. They want to know more. They go to the concerts and there’s mysteries about symphony orchestras. They want to know this information and when they know this information they can enjoy the performances more. They become more passionate supporters. And, uh yeah. So our adult music appreciation classes have been really great. So we’re—we’re out there as much as we possibly can, nurturing people’s interests and passion for symphonic music.
[1] Correction: Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter.