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Hernando Today

Symphony In Brooksville After All?

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By LINNEA BROWN

Hernando Today

Published: August 12, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - If the new administration at Brooksville's Hernando High School has anything to say about it, the Hernando County Symphony Orchestra will continue performing at the school's auditorium.

Hernando High's new principal, Ken Pritz, said the school's administrators want to work with the orchestra's leaders to prevent them from moving all of the orchestra's performances to Spring Hill this season, as orchestra officials told Hernando Today last week.

Conductor Wayne Raymond said Friday that due to scheduling conflicts at Hernando High, its performances would instead take place entirely at the orchestra's other mainstay venue - the Springstead High School performing arts center in Spring Hill.

But now officials on both sides say they'll work together to keep performances in Brooksville.

This would have been the first time in more than 20 years that the orchestra did not hold performances in Brooksville, which upset older concertgoers who have trouble driving at night or did not have transportation.

Friday, Raymond said school officials told him Hernando High's auditorium was already booked. With seasonal concerts that typically take place at the end of November, February, and April, the venue's available dates would not have coincided with their schedule.

But no one from the orchestra contacted the school's administrators to try to work out the scheduling conflicts, and the school's new administration wants to be actively involved in every decision that's made, Pritz said.

"We want to work with the community and have retired citizens coming here, rather than having to drive to Spring Hill," he said. "We want to encourage (orchestra officials) to reconsider their decision and work with us to make this work."

Now in its 25th season, the volunteer orchestra is made of more than 55 local musicians of all ages, with ticket sales and donations going to support private music lessons and scholarships for young musicians and members.

This season's shows will consist of longstanding favorites and classics from the past 25 years.
Pritz said the orchestra's dates for concerts in March and April were already penciled in, and the only potential conflict would have occurred Dec. 13 - the same day at Brooksville's annual Christmas parade and a wrestling tournament in the school's gymnasium, which could cause problems with parking.

On Dec. 6, the event would have come a day after another performance at the school, and there were concerns about clean-up issues. However, school officials will do whatever they can to keep the performances in Brooksville, he added.

"We'll work with them to see if we can't work through this issue," he said.

While the two men had not yet spoken Monday afternoon, Raymond said he had not realized he should be going directly through the school's administration. However, he also expressed hope that the concerts in Brooksville could be saved.

"If we can work it out, great," he said. "We never wanted to change it in the first place."

Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.

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