Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra kicks off 50th year

Since 1975, the Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra has entertained audiences with their innovative approach to classical and popular music. 

Their performance at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1, at Plymouth State University’s Hanaway Theatre marks the beginning of their 50th season. The show, dubbed “Beethoven and the New Romantics,” is anchored by Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, but also includes works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, John Corigliano and Sir William Walton. 

“It’s a significant milestone for the orchestra and for the Lakes Region community,” Maria Cantor, a member of the board of directors, said Tuesday.

Violist Hana Jang will perform Walton’s Viola Concerto on Saturday night. Jang, a student at St. Paul’s School in Concord, is the winner of last year’s LRSO Student Concerto Competition. She’s a prizewinning violist who has performed in Switzerland, Taiwan and the US,.

“The highlight solo is our young performer,” LRSO Executive Director Chris Mega said Tuesday in an interview. 

Located in Meredith, LRSO is a nonprofit organization which provides musical performances throughout central New Hampshire during the fall, winter and spring. Under the direction of Conductor and Music Director Benjamin Greene, the 60-plus-musician-orchestra performs a variety of music, from the absolute titans of the classical tradition — composers like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Beethoven — to popular music from Broadway productions, movies and other contemporary orchestral classics.

The orchestra performs six shows each season. The first in November is focused on classic music, and features the winner of their annual student concerto competition — this year, it’s Jang. Two holiday concerts in December feature individual and duet vocalists, barbershop groups and choirs. The season is rounded out with concerts in March and May. 

The LRSO was born in 1975, an offshoot of the New Hampshire Music Festival, and in 1988, formed a board of directors which created the orchestra as it exists today. It’s composed of amateur and professional musicians hailing from about 30 communities across the Granite State and neighboring Maine. Some of its members have been performing with the orchestra for decades. 

“It’s as varied as anything,” Mega said. “Finance, teachers. Very few of them are actually professional musicians. We’re better, because we have people who think differently.”

It was the late Thom Nee, former conductor of the NH Music Festival, who initially floated the idea of a Lakes Region community orchestra.

“It was really the brainchild of the New Hampshire Music Festival,” Mega said.

In the early years of the orchestra, the running joke was that there were more people on stage than in the audience. Mega was there for some of the early years, and he’s been involved for the past 25.

“Today, our goal is to fill the house for six performances a year,” he said. 

They’re not your typical classical orchestra. 

“Musically, absolutely, we’ve progressed,” Mega said. “We’re playing some serious music.”

“We’re really looking for a nice variety of music,” Cantor said, noting they include selections of festival holiday tunes and contemporary music, along with traditional classical masterworks.

December concerts — “The North Pole Playlist” on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6-7 — focus on the spirit of the season and, this year will be held at the Colonial Theatre in downtown Laconia and at the Interlakes Auditorium in Meredith. Guest vocalist Taylor O’Donnell headlines the evening’s festivities which highlight seasonal favorites like music from "The Nutcracker" and classic holiday carols.

“That’s a very popular, high energy holiday event,” Cantor said. 

The orchestral scene has changed over the years, too. Gone are the days of no internet connection — today, audiences can engage with media all day long from the comfort of their couches. It takes effort to plan for and attend a night out at the orchestra, and the LRSO audience itself is trending younger. 

“Orchestras in general are facing a different world order, if you will,” Mega said. “This is not your grandfather’s orchestra.”

They’ve paid particular attention to making the art form more accessible to general audiences, striving to provide a fantastic mix of hardcore classical music with uplifting, festive and downright fun musical experiences. This year, they’re implementing digital programs for example, and members of the orchestra present themselves more informally than is typical — audiences won’t see tuxedo-clad bassoonists on stage this season. 

One of the key innovations over the past six or eight years, Mega said, is that they’ve commissioned custom arrangements for their orchestra. For example, your typical orchestra won’t perform arrangements of “Rich Girl” by Hall & Oates, or selections from Steely Dan. 

“That’s what keeps our music fresh and distinct from almost any orchestra in the state or the region,” he said. 

And they’ve made a name for themselves. Mega said a representative from a major symphony in Spokane, Washington, reached out to ask how they’re able to put together such interesting and varied holiday performances. They consider the variety of music a “feather in the cap.” 

At their November concert, representatives of the New Hampshire Music Festival will present the Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra with a recognition of their 50-years longevity. 

“I’m actually excited that we, in a way, are going to come full-circle,” Mega said in a reference to their humble beginnings. “There’s cultural and historic value,” not only to the orchestra, but to the area.

The LRSO’s 50th season closes May 10, when they’ll perform “Mixtape: Hits of the ‘60s and ‘70s.” Tickets and more details are available at lrso.org.