DANVILLE — It’s not everyday that the brass section of the Danville Symphony Orchestra gets a chance to toot their own horns.
For the first time, the group will perform Saturday as a quintet at the Festival of Trees.
“We are delighted to be performing at the Festival of Trees this year, we have a fabulous Brass Quintet featuring many of our principal players from DSO,” said Matthew Sheppard, DSO Music Director. “We have a fabulous, joyful set of holiday tunes and favorites as well as a few other pieces that will really give them a chance to show off and show what makes the Danville Symphony Orchestra special. They will take requests and play a few numbers that will really show off who they are.”
Sheppard said the players are professional musicians who are among the best of the best and they work together and play outside DSO by request, while they continue to get into the spirit of the season.
“We are so excited to be part of the community in as many ways as we can be, rather than just doing our own thing, we want to partner with and be in the community, like with the Festival of Trees, and the education projects that we do,’’ he said.
Mary Beth Zundo, President of DSO said as they celebrate their Diamond 60th year, the Orchestra embodies talented musicians from the Eastern Illinois and Western Indiana areas, and rely on donations, support from the community, and grants to help keep their art in continuance. They are a 501 © (3) non profit organization. All musicians are paid professionals.
“It’s wonderful to be able to reach out to the public and offer this to the community, there’s a lot of people who don’t even realize that we have a symphony orchestra,” Zundo said. “We enjoy knowing that we have people who support the performing arts and believe it’s the heart of who we are, which also shows the health of the community.
“Its wonderful to have a professional Orchestra especially in an area this size.”
Students around the county as well as Danville High School students will be performing at the DSO Holiday Pops concert “Sleigh Rides and Singing” at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13 at the Dick Van Dyke Auditorium.
Ticket Prices run from $10 to $45. Cookies will be available after the concert and the public is invited to talk with the musicians.
“We want to keep the legacy going and engage students who are interested in music,” said Zundo.
“Our goal is to help bring music into the community, so come out and see us at the Festival of Trees and if you like what you hear, come check us out (with the full orchestra) at our holiday concert,” Sheppard said.