Courtesy of the Belleville Philharmonic
Belleville Philharmonic
It was just after the end of the Civil War that the Belleville Philharmonic played its first notes, and it hasn’t missed a beat since.
With the 147th consecutive season set to kick off this fall, the philharmonic is offering some exciting new programming—a collaboration to bring classical music to elementary school children.
The group has long been an established part of the Belleville area. The first conductor, Theodore Decker, directed a group of veterans, many of whom had been classically trained as musicians in Germany. They weren’t professionals, by any means, but what bound them together was their tie to the Belleville community.
“That’s been the strength of the orchestra, emerging out of the community,” says Robert Howard, conductor of the Belleville Philharmonic orchestra and chorale. The orchestra started with 17 members, but has grown to a dedicated group of 60 volunteers today. Some are lawyers, some college students, some music teachers. The variety of musicians, Howards says, is what makes this amateur group special.
“People are coming together out of the community, for the love of music, which is by the way, a translation of the word philharmonic,” he says. “These are not people who do music for their living, but we can still get the best we can.” Howard and the orchestra will create something unique with their love of music this year, with the hope of passing it on to younger generations.
This season, the orchestra is taking its sounds to elementary schools in partnership with Belleville’s Art on the Square program. The classic Russian children’s story, Peter and the Wolf, about a boy and his adventures with the animals in his backyard is told by a narrator and will be accompanied by the orchestra’s music. Each family of instruments plays the part of a character—the nasally oboe a duck, the slender clarinet a cat, etc.
The fun will continue as children draw characters and scenes from the play, which will then go on display at each school’s welcome center.
“We like to try to do things new, in one way or the other, all the time,” Howard says. With this new collaboration, this season promises to be an exciting time for the Belleville Philharmonic.
This fall’s lineup at the Belleville Philharmonic also features the annual Nutcracker Ballet, a collaboration with the Belleville School of Ballet, and a Christmas show and pops concert.
Catch the Belleville Philharmonic’s Summer Orchestra on July 26; its formal 147th season begins Saturday, October 26 with a concert on the campus of Lindenwood University. For more information on shows, tickets, or the ensemble itself, call 618-235-5600, or go to bellevillephilharmonic.org.
