FAIRWINDS Credit Union has committed to continuing its support for the orchestra’s Classics Series,
which is held in the Bob Carr Theater, through the 2020-21 season. “We’re so grateful for the past and
future support,” says Chris Barton, the orchestra’s executive director. “It helps us enrich the community,
inspire our audiences and build our organization to serve Central Florida for the next 25 years.”
SUMMER 2018 | artsLife 21
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ORLANDO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
that connected Japan and Korea to the
Mediterranean.
Born to Chinese parents who lived in Paris
and moved to New York when he was a
child, Ma grew up trying to sort out his cultural
identity.
In a moment from The Music of Strangers,
a documentary about the Silk Road Ensemble’s
2015 global odyssey to collaborate
with musicians from Syria, Spain, Iran, China
and France, Ma says: “I’m always trying to
that I share with 7 billion other people.”
Jacobsen, too, is convinced that music’s
highest purpose is connecting others — and
understanding ourselves. Though a cellist
-
enced him, he speaks not of technique, but
of attitude.
“Yo-Yo is just such a humble person,” Jacobsen
says. “All he wanted to do with the
Silk Road Ensemble was to go out into the
could all learn from them.”
Jacobsen, for his part, has tried to make
Orlando a Silk Road way station in its own
right. Indeed, his avant-garde tendencies
were obvious when he auditioned for the
orchestra job.
-
ed a program during the 2014-15 season,
allowing subscribers and board members
to see who best matched up musically.
Rather than playing it safe, though, Jacobsen
invited Silk Road Ensemble artist Wu Man
to perform Concerto No. 2 for Pipa and Orchestra
by Chinese composer Zhao Jiping. A
pipa is a traditional Chinese instrument similar
to the lute.
Audience reaction to hearing new music
— played on an unfamiliar instrument —
convinced Jacobsen that Central Floridians
were open to outside-the-ordinary experiences.
He got the job — and local music lovers
have now seen a little bit of everything.
Last year Jacobsen booked Silk Road Ensemble
collaborator Kayhan Kalhor, a kamancheh
player, to perform with the orchestra.
(The kamancheh is an Iranian bowed
string instrument.) Kalhor is returning for the
26th season — which is stocked, now more
than ever, with multicultural offerings.
For example, Puerto Rican-born composer
and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón will
be composer in residence for the season. The
orchestra will perform her compositions and
arrangements on four programs — including
a world premiere — during the season.
FAIRWINDS Credit Union — also sponsor of
the arts center’s Broadway in Orlando Series
— has committed to continuing its support
for the Classics Series through the 2020–21
season.
“We’re so grateful for the past and future
support,” says Chris Barton, the orchestra’s
executive director. “It helps us enrich
the community, inspire our audiences and