Music filled the air last Monday afternoon at the fifth annual Friends Raiser Luncheon hosted by the Vero Friends of the Atlantic Classical Orchestra. The event at the Vero Beach Country Club not only garnered support for their own superb orchestra, but also introduced ACO members to talented Vero Beach High School Sinfonia musicians.
“The Vero Friends are one of the official volunteer organizations of the Atlantic Classical Orchestra,” said Vero Friends President Jean Beckert. “We have a Friends group in all three of our venues where we play in Vero Beach, Stuart and Palm Beach Gardens. The Vero group is the oldest of the three.”
Friends’ members are ACO ambassadors, building support for the organization in their respective communities, hosting fundraisers and volunteering in such areas as musician hospitality and administrative support.
Beckert recognized two very special former Vero Beach residents in attendance: ACO founder and Conductor Laureate Andy McMullan, and his wife Jean, “the force behind why a lot of things have happened in ACO.”
Marie Juriet-Beamish, ACO board chairman, brought greetings from new Music Director David Amado as well as from Maestro Stewart Robertson, whose retirement in April 2015 coincided with the orchestra’s 25th anniversary year.
The four finalists in the process to choose a new music director had each conducted a performance during the 2016 season, meeting with the various Friends groups at luncheons prior to the concerts.
“David Amado was the first conductor candidate last year; I was so impressed,” said longtime Friends member Jane Garr. “We’ve had two concerts with him now and I think the orchestra sounds better than ever. It’s absolutely marvelous.”
After lunch, guests were treated to selections from the Sinfonia, a select group of students chosen on an audition-only basis from the 150-member Vero Beach High School Orchestra, under the direction of Matt Stott. They are members of the larger 60-member Vero Beach Philharmonic, which has been diligently raising funds to enable the students to perform in four Austrian cities this coming May and June.
“I’ve put them on quite a schedule this year,” said Stott, noting that after a weekend of playing in the school’s production of “Beauty and the Beast,” the students volunteered on their day off to play at the luncheon. Stott thanked the ACO and Friends for their encouragement and support, which has allowed generations of students to become inspired by professional musicians at ACO concerts.
Commenting that only one of the students performing that day had begun playing an instrument prior to sixth grade, with the rest beginning just three to five years ago, he added, “The kids have blown me away in what they are able to accomplish in just a few short years. For them to put in the time and get to the level they are has really shocked me.”
Stott said he encourages his students to “create, inspire and pursue beauty and excellence in all that we do, but especially in music.”
And that they did Monday afternoon, playing a varied assortment of American and Austrian pieces, from waltzes to pizzicatos and Barber’s challenging “Adagio for Strings.” Especially impressive was a piece entitled simply “Ballad,” composed by Brandon Alfaro, a VBHS senior who only just discovered his composition talents in ninth grade.
The March 9 ACO Masterworks concert at St. Edward’s Waxlax Center features composer and pianist Conrad Tao performing his own Concerto for Piano. For more information, visit atlanticclassicalorchestra.com.
