For Tiffany Ash joining up with the Jacksonville symphony orchestra was something that she had dreamed of since she was a child. Tiffany speaks with a fondness over getting cello lessons as a child and watching a performance by the Jacksonville symphony orchestra playing at the world famous Carnegie Hall, and there and then making the decision that when she grew up, that is exactly what she wanted to do. Tiffany was kind enough to speak to us about the history and the current state of the Jacksonville symphony orchestra, a place where the cellist chair is hers and a position which she has worked incredibly hard to earn.
Let’s take a look then at what the Jacksonville symphony orchestra is all about.
Founded and History
The orchestra was founded back in 1949 and it is one of the longest standing orchestras in the state of Florida. Throughout the years this is an orchestra which has seen its fair share of big names play with and for them, and here is just a small selection of some of the big hitters who the orchestra has hosted.
Art Garfunkel, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington Sarah Chang, Isaac and Leonard Bernstein, just a few of the big names who have been involved with this orchestra.
Playing
The Jacksonville symphony orchestra can be heard at many events which they put on across Florida, playing to some 200,000 throughout the year. The orchestra can also be heard on a weekly basis on the local WJCT-FM radio station. Much like many orchestras do, the Jacksonville symphony orchestra also have a youth orchestra with many of those rising up through the ranks and joining the full orchestra, this orchestra has a waiting list which makes it a very difficult place for a young musician to get into.
Directors
Some truly special musical directors have also come through the ranks of this orchestra and currently they have the incredible Courtney Lewis. Previously we have seen big names such as Fabio Mechetti, Roger Nierenberg and Willis Page as the musical directors of this incredible orchestra, all of them have gone on to do very impressive things within the world of music.
Concert Hall
The orchestra are one of only a few in the USA with their own concert halls, the mesmerizing Robert E Jacoby Symphony hall which is modeled after the incredible Wiener Musikvere in which can be found in Vienna, Austria. As if this wasn’t enough, the organ which they have here is also a thing of beauty; the rebuilt Casavant Freres pipe organ is packed with 6214 pipes that produce a truly amazing sound when it is played.
This is an orchestra with a rich history and it is easily one of the finest in the USA, and that is of course why it is so hard to get into and why Tiffany Ash has done so well to complete her dream of one day playing for this orchestra.