Concert may have flagged, but it's no time to give up now

It's sad that a recent effort to infuse more culture into Hernando County floundered. To their credit, organizers seeking to schedule concerts by the Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra are not giving up.

The traveling musicians gave a concert Saturday, Oct. 13, at Faith Presbyterian Church, a handsome venue that seats 600. Unfortunately, fewer than 150 showed, garnering a $7,000 deficit for sponsors
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A retired dentist, George Marholin, helped bring the orchestra to Brooksville and was understandably disappointed by the low turnout. Marholin deserves commendation for his efforts, however, and we hope he doesn't give up.

Hopefully, local classical music proponents are soliciting donations from the community to make up the $7,000 difference - and we urge our readers to help move the recent concert out of the red and generously contribute.

If the deficit is breached, another concert is being planned for January and a full season of performances is envisioned for 2008. With all of the snowbirds back in Hernando County then, a January concert should be a sell-out.

Even though the county has a wonderful symphony orchestra, our region is starved for cultural performances and there is no reason the Florida Lakes orchestra can't succeed here.

"We probably made a mistake by starting in October before snowbirds arrived," Marholin said. "Also, because of our late start in August in soliciting funding, we missed the application date to get corporate sponsors and donations from charitable organizations for 2007."

It was a valiant start for the 16 organizers of the Florida Lakes musicians and we urge them not to lose heart and continue their efforts. It's important for our county to offer cultural gems like symphony concerts. We have a thriving theater community here and our high schools produce excellent productions during the school year. The Stage West Community Playhouse is an established theater that has become increasingly popular over the years.

But a quality orchestra like the Florida Lakes ensemble would add even more cultural opportunities and would be a solid selling point to new businesses contemplating a move to Hernando County.

The Lakeland-based orchestra was founded two years ago by world-renowned pianist and composer Guy Saint-Clair and his wife, painter Audrey Sanders. The orchestra is conducted by Michael Garasi and comprised of between 55 to 60 professional musicians from all over the world who live in central Florida.

Besides broadening the choices for local classical music lovers, Marholin said he believes adding the option to Brooksville's selection of arts choices will also help the area attract high-end professionals looking to relocate to Hernando County.

He is correct and as a result, the project has garnered support from the Hernando County Fine Arts Council and the tourist development board, both of which see the potential draw that more cultural offering have for our county.

We encourage our readers to become part of this effort. They can do so by contacting the symphony's executive director Audrey Sanders at 352-429-4650. A donation to help defray the Oct. 13 concert deficit can also be made by calling that number.