In today's tech-savvy society, people more often create a new playlists
on their iPods before they consider a night at symphony.
Kentucky Symphony Orchestra,
celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, reminds us that live
orchestral music can be just as interactive, current and interesting as
any electronic media.
KSO focuses on thematic performances that make you think, learn and
wonder. Shows typically involve an overarching thread that is easily
appreciable by even the most lax symphony-goer.
"I wanted to focus on people who weren't symphony oriented," says
Executive Director J.R. Cassidy. But he had a regional desire as well.
"I wanted to have something Northern Kentucky could call their own."
Cassidy founded what would become KSO after moving to Cincinnati from
Tampa Bay to study at The College Conservatory of Music at the
University of Cincinnati. After he graduated, he wasn't interested in a
formal teaching position. He wanted to pursue idea of creative
orchestral music for the masses.
He founded the Northern Kentucky Symphony, what would later become the
KSO. Since its inception, the range of programming has been as divergent
as Civil War retrospectives coupled with performance to a sonic
symposium on how cartoons are made that featured the voice of "Yakko"
from the former kid's show "Animaniacs."
Each performance also offers a little bit of education as well. A
historical thread was woven into the Civil War retrospective and
explored little-known Kentucky facts, such as how Mary Todd-Lincoln, a
Kentucky native, had brothers that served in the Confederate army.
"It's the kind of history you don't get in school," says Cassidy. "When
you come its always going to be different. You ever know what your gonna
get."
Do Good:
Come. Come to events by the KSO.
Click here for a complete calendar of events.
Volunteer. Send an
email to inquire about any and all volunteering opportunities. KSO needs help with everything from ushering to fundraising events.
Donate.
Contact JR via Soapbox to find out the best way to contribute.
By Ryan McLendon
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