The Red Mountain Chamber Orchestra
Hill Hall Birmingham Southern
October 1999
The Red Mountain Chamber
Orchestra exists to educate and give pleasure to the public by
performing a repertoire of classical music not otherwise heard in
Birmingham, as well as to provide a musical outlet for skilled players,
conductors, and soloists, both professional and amateur, in the
community. Because of our chamber orchestra size, we are able to move
about the area, playing in different venues each season, thereby
reaching a more diverse audience and addressing ourselves more clearly
to the needs and interests of the community. Although completely
independent as to policies, the RMCO has for about a decade rehearsed
and performed at Birmingham-Southern College. We are proud to be an
adjunct of BSC's Division of Fine and Performing Arts. Founded 21 years ago, with the first concert on November 2, 1980, the orchestra has always been based in Birmingham, although some of the players come in from outlying communities and we perform at least once a season outside the city. With ages ranging from 15 to 80, the most veteran of us played in the Birmingham Civic Symphony, the youngest are students. All of us are bound together by a passion that leads us to work on concert materials well before rehearsals for the sake of the music. Although we include many physicians, a dentist, a physics professor, and several band teachers, most of us studied our instruments seriously in university music departments and at conservatories before finding other sources of daily income. We exist as a musical force because of the support of many who like what we do. We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have, over the years, given us the tools we needed to survive and flourish: Birmingham-Southern College, Samford University, and the Unitarian Church, all of whom have given the orchestra a home base across the years for rehearsals and performances; the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Birmingham Regional Arts Commission, and the private donors who have provided financial support; area churches, libraries, and schools who have allowed us rehearsal and performance space, especially the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and the Birmingham Museum of Art; and all of the conductors, soloists, and players who have given freely of their time and talents to work with this orchestra. As always, thanks to you our supporters, whose help makes all of these performances possible. |