Happy 100th!
Pensacola Symphony Orchestra!
By Allison McCrory / Photos by Kate Treick Photography
The local cultural arts treasure called the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra traces its roots to a 12-year-old boy who found his passion while playing violin in a downtown Pensacola church concert.
In 1888, young Edwin Northup played his violin in a benefit concert at St. Michael’s Church to rave reviews. Northup went on to study engineering at MIT and marry pianist Louise Schmidt before returning to his hometown. But his early passion for music simmered, ready to be rediscovered when the time was right.
The Northups settled into their home at the southwest corner of Gregory and Spring streets, and the time to renew that musical passion was ripe. The couple regularly invited like-minded instrumentalists into their home to play together, eventually requiring a building jack under the gathering room to support the weight of the musicians and two grand pianos. The fledgling group called themselves the Pensacola Civic Orchestra.
Meanwhile, other musical forces were surging in Pensacola with a desire to make the city a music stronghold, as many cities of the day were doing. Thanks to the converging efforts, the Pensacola Philharmonic Orchestra was formed in 1926 under the leadership of German immigrant John Borjes, offering the community free entertainment and a forum for musicians to grow their skills.
Beauty through the Storm AND Beyond
One hundred years later, the more than 100 musicians who comprise the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra regularly bring their magic to the Gulf Coast. Some members have played with the PSO for more than 40 years; two-thirds are from outside the three-county area of Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa.
Conductor Peter Rubardt is wrapping up his 29th season with the orchestra. One memory from those years of bringing the healing power of music to the community is particularly poignant.
“In 2004, Hurricane Ivan wiped out our town and our opening night,” Rubardt said. “The Saenger Theatre was damaged, but we felt strongly that we should play, so we moved the concert to Olive Baptist Church, and we changed the program to Beethoven’s ‘Ninth Symphony.’ Somehow we managed to gather a chorus and four soloists, scheduled two quick rehearsals and put on a free concert for the community. What a memorable example of the power of music.”
“That is the ultimate goal of the symphony,” said Executive Director Bret Barrow. “We endeavor to provide and teach music that connects, challenges, comforts and celebrates.”
Serenading the Community
The symphony performs eight concerts at the Saenger between October and March. Yet its interaction with the community extends much further.
“We offer free performances in parks, libraries, galleries and community centers that allow people who may not otherwise come to a symphony concert to explore and enjoy classical music,” explained Julie Martin Green, who leads music education for the PSO. Healthcare and hospice centers as well as schools and memory care units are beneficiaries of symphony outreach.
“Last season, 42 PSO musicians served more than 11,000 community members through 188 free community engagements,” Martin Green said.
Many Gulf Coast residents remember the excitement as fifth graders of getting dressed up in anticipation of a field trip to the larger-than-life Saenger Theatre to hear the symphony perform — “a touchstone for many students in our community for the last several decades,” Barrow noted.
Seaside Mother’s Day concerts at Pensacola Beach, Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival performances and, in recent years, July 4 concerts at Maritime Park are among a few of PSO’s gifts to the Pensacola area community.
Life often comes full circle. Much like the Northups more than 100 years ago, flutist and piccolo player Bethany Witter Wood and her husband, drummer Jordan Wood, love creating music with some of their favorite people in the community they call home. Witter Wood has been a PSO member for 25 years.
“I cherish being in this ensemble, which includes my husband and some of my dearest friends,” she said. “The orchestra is full of close-knit sections, and Peter Rubardt is truly an inspiring conductor.”
