A Community “In Harmony” with the Louisville Orchestra
Gwen Akers
The Ashland Beacon
Music is the universal language that brings us all together. From the marching band that gets the crowd riled up at football games, to the national anthem that brings us to our feet at baseball games, or even the violin solo at the high school orchestra concert–music is just one thread that runs between us all. This is the message the Louisville Orchestra is promoting with their new, free, concert series, “In Harmony.”
“In Harmony” is the brainchild of the conductor of the Louisville Orchestra, Teddy Abrams–and this concert series is meant to be one that connects and builds in every eastern Kentucky county they play in.
“I think his vision is he’s looking to kind of break down that divide between urban and rural, which is: ‘how do we connect everybody through music because it's a common language,’” explained Arricka Dunsford, the Kentucky Tour Project Manager for the Louisville Orchestra. “He wanted to go to as many places in the state of Kentucky as possible to not only share the music but to work with each of the communities to collaborate where possible with other local nonprofits, schools, community organizations, the orchestras themselves (if there are some there of course), the venues in each of these wonderful places that we are going. We are the only orchestra in the United States who is doing something like this at this time.”
The “In Harmony” tour will land in Ashland on July 8th at the Paramount Arts Center. However, this main performance is not the only show of the event as various ensembles from the orchestra will be performing at local community sites–including the Boyd County Public Library (July 8th at 2 p.m.) and the Olive Hill Center for Arts and Education (July 8th at 3 p.m.).
Holly Canfield, executive director of the Paramount Arts Center also could not wait to unveil the concert to the community.
“I'm 41, and I remember when I was younger coming to performances at the Paramount, but the majority of performances that I was exposed to were plays or musicals. I didn't get the opportunity to really come to see an orchestra. It wasn't until I was in my 30s that I sat down and listened to an orchestra performance–and there are several people in our area that still have never seen an orchestra before. This is an opportunity for them to be able to do that at no cost and to hear one of the best groups out there,” expressed Canfield.
“It's also a way to have a closer connection to the communities, [to be] more up close and personal. When we take our ensembles into the libraries, we perform our ‘Once Upon an Orchestra’ program which is something that was piloted here in Louisville with the Louisville free public library system. The idea is to be in every library system in Louisville with this program, and we’re taking that and trying to branch it off into each one of these stops that we're making. It's really great. They teach about the instruments, they do some demonstrations, they tell a story to put together something between reading, art, and music,” commented Dunsford.
This tour is all about understanding and connecting communities, and what better way to do that than to tour and bring their music to these community sites. After visiting downtown Ashland, Dunsford explained that the Orchestra absolutely fell in love with the area and knew that this would be a perfect play to showcase “In Harmony.”
“We kind of have a community conversation to get to know everybody: what are the challenges in the community? What are the arts and music like in that community? That's trying to find out the points of intersection because this is a tour that begins this year, but we hope to continue it for years to come,” stated Dunsford.
The tour is also meant to serve as a source of inspiration for those that it reaches–showing that even when it seems like a far-fetched dream, there is a path to pursue and thus achieve.
To experience “In Harmony,” plan to attend one of their many performances on July 8th.