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I am sitting out on the Britt hill right now as the city lights begin to twinkle in the distance and the crickets start to chirp a gentle accompaniment to the orchestra playing on stage. There are 100 professional musicians here in Jacksonville that weren’t here 3 nights ago and the magic that has been happening on this hillside every August for 46 consecutive years is just beginning.
Opening night is tomorrow night and Maestro Bay and this extraordinary orchestra are once again bringing the thrill of live classical music to this beautiful outdoor setting. Right now four members of the Britt horn section are out on the apron of the stage playing the Schumann Concertstuck which will be featured on Saturday night. Clad in t-shirts and shorts rather than formal attire, it is easier to remember that these are all individual musicians with distinct personalities and stories.
As wonderful as the music is—and it is wonderful—there is more here than the music. These players come from all over (28 states, 3 Canadian provinces and Valencia, Spain are represented this year) and they have been adopted by this community. If you drive through Jacksonville during the next three weeks, you’ll see musicians all over town, carrying instruments as they come and go from rehearsals up the hill at Britt.
All of them stay in private homes with generous host families as they have every summer for almost a half century, and they become a part of this place while they’re here.
If you drive out to Jacksonville in the morning, you’re likely to see Acting Principal Cellist Paul Christopher on his morning run along Jacksonville Highway. If you were to continue on through town, you’d find the tables in front of The Good Bean filled with musicians having coffee and conversation as they start their day. Up on the hill, often before the stage is even open, you’ll hear the sound of a trumpet or horn as a musician warms up for rehearsal and serenades the deer who are so used to music on this hill that they hardly look up from their munching. By mid-morning, there will be Britt Orchestra babies and toddlers crawling or walking on the grassy slope as they explore the hill while their parents attend to the business of making music on stage.
The sense of tradition and history is rich here, but it is wrapped in a sense of excitement because each summer brings something new as well.
As I write, the orchestra on stage has changed configurations once again and the strings are playing the luscious Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings. The stars are out now and the heat of the day has been replaced by a cool breeze.
For me, this is summer. I wait all year for this three weeks and it flies all too swiftly once it begins. I don’t want to miss a moment because I know how long the wait will be until next August comes and the orchestra is here again.
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