MACON, Ga. — After being gone for 5 years, the Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra has strived to re-imagine what orchestra can be and who can be a part of it.
Today, the Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra is made up of the 26 students in the McDuffie Center for Strings Ensemble and principle members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
The group hopes to provide accessible, diverse, high-quality art for the whole Macon community while also providing an educational opportunity to music students.
“So, we want to reach all of Macon. To that end, we’re making sure that at least one conductor, one composer, one soloist is going to be a person of color, to represent all of Macon,” said McDuffie Center for Strings founder, Robert McDuffie.
Violinist Virgil Moore says playing in the symphony has been really special to him.
“We look up to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as being this amazing orchestra that is just one of the best orchestras in the county and so getting to work with them as our mentors is just really special,” he said.
Violinist Allyson Cohen says many people think that they have to be in a certain demographic of people to enjoy orchestra music, but she wants people to know that is not the case.
“There’s no rules in classic music, it’s not a stuffy art form, it's really just a way to communicate and if you can kind of understand that I think there's a lot of room for growing in the artform,” she said.
The orchestra is challenging all preconceived notions of classical music by having guest artists join them on stage, which includes gospel choirs as well as famous musicians and composers.
You can also hear a variety of music genres at their concerts from Bach and Brahms to more contemporary selections for audiences to love.
At their upcoming show, Macon hip-hop artist Bob Lennon will perform a commissioned piece called “Don’t You Look at Me.”
Moore says seeing the community embrace the orchestra this season has been a phenomenal experience.
“It's re-affirming to me that art really is special and needed in the community. Getting to see the Macon community enjoy it has been really cool,” he said.
To find out more about the Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra and get tickets to their next show, you can check them out on their website.
Their final show of the season is on April 25 at The Grand Opera House.
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