Fischer
Well I think one of the—one of the events that stands out as we started out as an orchestra was, uh, a result of our willingness to do almost anything. And, um, Andy Lane, [1] who was the manager at the time, uh, received a call from a production company wanting to use an all-male orchestra dressed in, uh, boxer shorts to film a dream sequence for the, uh—um, the television show seaQuest [DSV].
We, uh, performed in the Lake Eola Bandshell, with the actor Roy Scheider on the podium. And, uh, Mr. Scheider was watching Andy Lane, who was behind the orchestra—not one camera—and was mirroring his motions as a conductor. And so we played the music and, um—and eventually it made it on to the dream sequence that was part of, uh, Roy Scheider’s character, uh, in the television show. And when we did that I thought, Okay. Well, we just moved the boundary a little bit, and I think, um, we’ll see what comes next. And, you know, there—there are no boundaries apparently.
I think what amazes me most about the success of the Orlando Philharmonic [Orchestra] over the years is the extent to which it’s been embraced by people in the community. People have, uh—members of the friends of the Philharmonic would volunteer as board members, have really gone the extra mile over the years to help sustain this organization, and to see to it that even in hard economic times that it can—it can flourish. When—when musicians see that kind of commitment to the organization it makes them also more committed. Um, it, uh, gives one a sense of—of well-being. And, uh, that what—what we do as musicians is important. And, uh, and it’s considered indispensable to the community.
[1] Andrew Lane.