Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Rhein, Tampa Bay Symphony Board President.
Hi Susan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
The Tampa Bay Symphony is an all-volunteer community orchestra comprised of over 80 musicians ranging in age from 18 to 93. In addition to performing three concert series per season at the Straz Center in Tampa and at the Palladium in St. Petersburg, we have two competitions: a Young Artist Competition (YAC) and a Composition Competition. The Young Artist winner each year receives a $3,000 scholarship to further their music studies and they get to perform their solo with the orchestra at our Spring series of concerts. Our YAC competition is in its 37th year and is the oldest YAC competition in the state.
Our Composition Competition is in its 6th season and has become international in scope. This year we received 49 entries from 17 different countries. The competition this year was different because we added two requirements for the composers: 1) the piece had to be composed in 2022, and 2) the piece needed to tie into one of the themes of Ukraine, War, and/or Freedom. We knew that so many composers around the world were affected by the war in Ukraine that we wanted the competition this year to center around that and provide an outlet for the new works that were being influenced by that event.
Members of the Tampa Bay Symphony serve as judges to assess the works and decide which ones would advance to the finals of the competition. We will be holding the International Composition Competition Finals event at the Palladium on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 2 pm. This event is FREE and open to the public.
From the original 49 entries, three finalist pieces have been chosen and will be featured at the event at the Palladium. The pieces are Incandescence (Ukraine’s Undying Light) by Brandon Walker, US; Through Shattering Snow and Fallen Glass by Jeffrey Fong, Canada; and Defiant Overture by Austin Ali, US. An Honorable Mention has been awarded to a fourth piece, “Final” of the Ukrainian Symphony, by Vyacheslav Tkach, Ukraine.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When the Composition Competition was in its first year, we faced challenges with getting the word out about the competition. We only had 10 entries initially, all from US-based composers. But the bigger challenges are for the composers themselves, as they struggle to find orchestras who are interested in new works. There are a few websites out there that understand this, and they allow competitions like ours to be posted. Once we found that outlet, we were easily reaching composers from around the world.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
The Tampa Bay Symphony has been called “one of Tampa Bay’s hidden jewels.” Although we are a community orchestra made up of volunteer musicians, our patrons often confuse us with The Florida Orchestra because the level of our playing is so high. Many of us studied music in high school and college, then went off and became professionals in other fields. Some of our professional backgrounds include accounting, firefighting, martial arts, information technology, healthcare, lawyers, and doctors to name a few. We come from all walks of life, but we share a love of music which is what brings us together on the stage.
Pricing:
- Tickets to the International Composition Competition are FREE.
- Tickets to our Spring series concerts are $20, available on our website, tampabaysymphony.org
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tampabaysymphony.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TampaBaySymphonyFL
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TampaBaySymphony
