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Gainesville Chamber Orchestra to celebrate 30 years with concert

GCO 30th Anni Final Cut

The Gainesville Chamber Orchestra will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a concert Friday at Santa Fe College's Fine Arts Hall.

Maestro Evans Haile will conduct the orchestra. He has conducted across the United States and abroad, touring through countries such as Australia, Germany and Russia.

Haile is excited to bring this type of music to Gainesville.

"Music begins at home in any community where there is an opportunity to hear great music performed really well for the community," he said.

Aside from the orchestra's performance, which will feature Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture," Bernstein's "West Side Story" and Strauss' "Don Juan," a Gainesville artist will also be bringing a different type of performance to the celebration.

Eleanor Blair will be painting a picture onstage while the orchestra performs. Her painting will be auctioned off after the concert.

Melissa Lucia, a flutist in the orchestra and one of its charter members, said this concert is special because it will feature an ensemble of very talented musicians.

"I am thrilled," Lucia said. "I never believed in college that I would be playing music of this caliber this long into my career."

Haile hinted there might be a major announcement regarding the Gainesville Chamber Orchestra during Friday night's performance.

Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show are $30 for general admission, $20 for seniors and $15 for students. They can be purchased by calling the Santa Fe box office at 352-395-4181 or by visitingwww.sfcollege.edu/finearts/.

Samantha Dean wrote this story online.

 

 

Richard Drake is an employee at the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications.
Ethan is the Managing Editor in the Innovation News Center, home to WUFT News.He is a Pennsylvania native who found a home reporting Florida's stories. Reach him by emailing emagoc@wuft.org or calling 352-294-1525.