Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra Returns To Warsaw Dec. 16
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Staff Report-
With Christmas right around the corner, that means the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra is returning to Warsaw. Lakeland Community Concert Association will present The Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra and its popular Christmas Holiday Pops Concert Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. in the Warsaw Community High School Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $20 for adults, and children get in free with an adult. Conductor will be Sameer Patel. The Fort Wayne Philharmonic can trace its origin to the Verweire Symphony Orchestra, founded in January 1924 by conductor John L. Verweire, according to the official website www.fwphil.org Not long after the founding, Verweire asked his orchestra of 63 musicians to change its name to the Fort Wayne Symphony Orchestra. The name of the orchestra was eventually changed to the Fort Wayne Civic Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra’s first concert was Feb. 24, 1928. On June 13, 1944, the Philharmonic Society of Fort Wayne Inc. was incorporated. In 1948, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic was heard on a coast-to-coast NBC broadcast. This broadcast was followed by a feature story about the orchestra and its conductor in Newsweek magazine. On Nov. 21, 1957, the Fort Wayne Musical Society Inc. changed its name to the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra Inc. The Philharmonic moved its full orchestra concerts from the Scottish Rite Auditorium to the newly remodeled and redecorated Embassy Theatre at the beginning of the 1975-76 season. In June 2009, the Philharmonic announced Andrew Constantine as the seventh music director. Constantine was the music director designate for the 2009-10 season and assumed full-time duties in the 2010-11 season.
Upcoming LCCA Shows The next LCCA show will be a pianist and a comedian March 16. Classical Gas is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Rodeheaver Auditorium, Winona Lake. Pianist Rich Ridenour teams up with violinist and comedian Steve Brook for a show that is “a little bit Jack Benny, Fritz Kreisler, Victor Borge and Abbot & Costello,” according to information provided. They perform classics fueled by their own imaginations. “Sure to delight all audiences, Brook and Ridenour will leave you smiling and warmed with a show encompassing many styles of musical entertainment,” it continues. Ending the 2012-13 season will be Rodney Mack’s Philadelphia Big Brass April 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Rodeheaver. This group includes five of America’s top brass musicians who are dedicated to bringing the “joyous experience of great music to a wide range of audiences.” LCCA season tickets are $40, and individual concert tickets are $15 each, except for the Philharmonic show. For season tickets or more information, contact LCCA President Grant Magner at 4107 E. Potawatomi Ln., Leesburg, IN 46538; or call him at 574-453-2177.
