Symphoria outlined its first-ever full season for 2013-14 at a press conference down city at the Mulroy Civic Center on May 15. Fifth District Legislator Kathy Rapp (R-Salina) spoke at the press confab, reflecting on how far Symphoria has come in the single year since the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra sputtered out of business and into bankruptcy.
“Some people were saying that symphonic music was dead in Syracuse,” Rapp said, “but now here we are announcing an entire new season of music with programs that certainly hold a broad range of appeal.”
The Onondaga County Legislature voted in October to give Symphoria $120,000 to get started and also pledged $300,000 from the 2013 county budget for the new orchestra.
Jon Garland, Symphoria musician, board member and spokesman, thinks its 2013-14 plans herald good things to come. “We’re calling this upcoming season Overture to the Future,” Garland said, “which is really appropriate for our first full season.”
The season will open will an all-Russian classical program on Sept. 21, conducted by Ward Stare at the Civic Center. Four more classical concerts will follow Oct. 26, Nov. 16, Jan. 25, 2014, March 1, 2014 and April 26, 2014.
Flutist Deborah Coble, who lives in Liverpool, will be featured in one of four Casual Concerts to be staged down city at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral. Coble will perform Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s “Flute Concerto in D-minor” on Jan. 12, 2014.
Symphoria’s new Spark Concert Series starts Nov. 22 with “Music of Space” at the MOST. The series continues Feb. 8, 2014 with “Electronic Music and Dance” at the Westcott Theater and May 10, 2014 with “An Evening of Video and Music,” complete with a house-music DJ at the Palace Theater.
A Pops Series at the Civic Center starts Oct. 4 with “The Music of James Bond,” followed by a holiday show Dec. 20, a tribute to The Rat Pack on Feb. 14, 2014 and “Symphoria Goes to the Movies” May 16, 2014.
For tickets call the box office at 299-5598, ext. 201 or visit symphoria.org.
Symphoria is still hoping to schedule a summer season this year, including the long-running Fourth of July Spectacular at the State Fairgrounds, Garland said.
Funding for the Fourth remains in question, but it was questionable last year, too. In 2012, the free holiday concert was announced just two weeks before the event. Nevertheless, the patriotic concert punctuated by fireworks still drew thousands of Central New Yorkers to the fairgrounds on July 4, 2012.
If you’re hoping to hear the free fairgrounds show in July or if you’re one of the hundreds who line the eastern show of Onondaga Lake here in Liverpool to watch the pyrotechnical display that night, keep your fingers crossed.
Syracuse Music Awards Hall of Famers Gary Frenay and Arty Lenin will perform British Invasion tunes including plenty of Beatles, classic rock and power pop originals on at 9:30 p.m. Friday, May 24 and June 15, at the Limp Lizard Barbecue, at 201 First St. Admission is free.
Lizard co-owner Scott Schimpff, himself an innovative rock’n’roll bass player, has also booked The Salt City Rockers for May 30, and the ever-popular reservation rockabillies, the Fabulous Ripcords, on June 28; 451-9774.
Documentary producer Eric Roberts, who lives in Liverpool, says his new project detailing the true origin of the ice cream sundae is now 90 percent complete. The sundae doc follows on the heels of “The Mysterious Origin of Thousand Island Dressing,” which aired on PBS-TV stations exactly a year ago.
To raise the final $15,000 necessary to deliver the ice cream sundae exposé by his Aug. 1 deadline, Roberts has posted the project on Kickstarter.com.
“This site allows people all over the world to donate to projects they think are cool and would like to see completed, “ he said, “and then they receive a list of goodies that correspond to the amount they put in. So even a $25 contribution makes a big difference in our ultimate success, because it will show a spike in our activity on the site.”
People who pledge money will not be charged a thing unless the full goal is reached: kickstarter.com/projects/1363595754/the-mysterious-origin-of-the-ice-cream-sundae?ref=home_location.
