When the Indian River Symphonic Association was at its zenith, there could be 100 people on the waiting list for tickets. In the past few years, as longtime patrons have aged out of the concert scene, tickets aren’t as hard to come by.
That will not be the case next season when the classical music presenters celebrate their 25th anniversary with two of the world’s most famous violinists and conductors, Joshua Bell and Pinchas Zukerman.
Both have performed with the IRSA series before but never in the same season.
“It’s really exciting to have them returning,” says the presenting group’s board president, John Crosby. “We are so fortunate to draw such a high caliber of talent to Vero Beach.”
The Indian River Symphonic Association’s silver anniversary season opens next Jan. 12 with Zukerman performing with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Then, on March 23, violinist Bell performs with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
Those two alone could make for a sell-out season when tickets go on sale next week. Factoring in a Feb. 2 pops concert with the group’s longtime collaborator, the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, makes demand for Community Church’s 900 seats even higher, as vocalist Michelle Amato, who trained at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, makes a guest appearance in IRSA’s silver anniversary celebration concert.
Amato has toured and recorded with countless pop stars and jazz groups, from Quincy Jones to Liza Minelli.
But it is the star power of Bell and Zukerman that will set the Vero classical music scene glowing next year.
Violinist Bell received his first violin when he was 4 years old. The musical genius performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 14 and debuted at Carnegie Hall at 17. Hailed as one of the most celebrated violinists of his era, in 2011 he was named music director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. This season, he has served as 2016-2017 artist-in-residence at the Kennedy Center and National Symphony Orchestra.
Zukerman has been pushing the limits as a musician and conductor since he was 5 years old. He went on to study at Julliard before beginning his career. His unique style has resulted in the development of innovative music education programs around the world. Zukerman has spent time as a solo performer and musical director with world-renowned orchestras. He has directed the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra.
IRSA was founded in 1993 when several like-minded classical music enthusiasts mapped out a plan to bring orchestral music to Vero.
That group included Penny Odiorne, board member and orchestra historian. “I lived in the metropolitan New York area and attended the New York Symphony. I played the clarinet as a child and sang in the choral society, but I just love the symphony.”
When she moved to Vero Beach in the early 1990s, to get her music “fix” Odiorne would travel to Melbourne and visit friends involved with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, formed in 1954 when 13 local musicians got together to accompany the Northrop Glee Club’s performance of “The Mikado.”
In 1987, the orchestra began to perform as orchestra-in-residence in the newly constructed King Center in Melbourne. As the orchestra grew, it was eager to increase its viewing audience.
In 1993 the Indian River Symphonic Association was formed. One year later the Brevard Symphony gave its first performance at the Community Church of Vero Beach, where the programs are still held today.
After two performances during the first year, IRSA’s season grew quickly. Two years later, they brought in their first non-local symphony, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.
Today the group typically offers four international orchestras plus three performances by the Brevard Symphony. “In those 24 years, we’ve had 55 international orchestras coming from 22 countries. We’ve had quite a diverse representation,” says Crosby.
Roman Ortega-Cowan, the longtime artistic director of Vero Beach Opera, was also part of the music scene when IRSA was formed. He played an integral role in the incorporation of the nonprofit.
“I was invited by Penny Odiorne and Harriet Samson Yem to attend a couple of meetings. They were very enthusiastic and ready to do something big. I could see they were looking at the future,” recalls Ortega-Cowan, who in the 1970s had worked frequently with Brevard Symphony Orchestra through his involvement with Brevard’s Opera Arts Association. At the time, Ortega-Cowan and his wife Joan lived in Cocoa Beach, where Joan grew up.
Ortega-Cowan’s career in banking kept him from devoting as much time to IRSA as he would have liked, but he says he was pleasantly surprised when several years later he tried to buy tickets for the symphony only to discover there was a waiting list of 100 people.
“I thought that was just fantastic. With the enthusiasm that those two ladies began this effort, I’m not surprised that it has done so well,” says Ortega-Cowan.
Brevard Symphony Orchestra’s music director and principal conductor Christopher Confessore has also been involved in IRSA since its beginning, joining the orchestra at nearly the same time IRSA was forming.
“It’s an amazing program and so great for the community that they bring orchestras from around the world to the Vero community,” he says. “We’re certainly honored to appear on the same roster as some of these amazing national and international guest artists.”
“I’ve done concerts with Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell,” Confessore marvels. “Just last week I was standing next to Pablo Villegas playing the guitar. You just felt like you were standing next to one of the greatest musicians in the world. He was just so committed and so passionate, it was amazing.”
IRSA hosts the Brevard Symphony for two children’s concerts each season. More than 1,600 fifth-graders get what, for most of them, is their first taste of the symphony.
“We consider the youth concerts to be the most important concerts we do all season,” says Confessore. “We have worked with classroom and music teachers to develop curriculum to help students prepare in advance of the concert. They study units on composers, the make-up of the orchestra, history of the composers and concert etiquette.”
IRSA awards several scholarships to high school students who are going on to study music in college. “We’ve given away almost $138,000 to about 35 students,” says Crosby.
“This is a labor of love and a great gift to that community, and it’s our honor and pleasure to work with the IRSA,” says Confessore.
The final concert of the 2016-2017 season is April 2 with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra and a special performance by violinist Elmar Oliveira .
