The Lewisville Lake Symphony is celebrating its 40th anniversary with its first concert of the 2023-24 season next week.
Music Director and Conductor Adron Ming has been there since the first concert and has watched it grow over the last four decades.
“We started off as an all-volunteer community orchestra,” Ming said. “Over time, as we were able to raise additional money, we got to the point where we’re a professional group and pay all players.”
“The quality of the performance has risen significantly over the years,” said Board Member Nancy Wright. “They’re able to play music they couldn’t do in the early years because they didn’t have the skill, but now they do.”
Wright was one of the first flute players in the orchestra in 1984, but after a few years she wasn’t able to make it to rehearsals because of work, so she stopped playing and joined the board.
“The nice thing is that from this side, I can still appreciate the symphony and make sure that music is still happening in our community,” Wright said.
Over the years as the orchestra has grown, so has its involvement in the community.
“We’ve grown from just having an orchestra to having a whole menu of programs that serve everyone in the community, from the youngest to the oldest,” Wright said.
In addition to its four full concerts through April 2024, the LLS offers four free International Chamber Series concerts in Flower Mound, music competitions for teens and young adults, a program to give underprivileged Lewisville ISD students free tickets to see the orchestra, another program to help scouts get music-related merit badges, and more.
“Early on, we added a concert to introduce young children to the orchestra,” Wright said of the Peter & the Wolf concert with the Lake Cities Ballet Theatre. “We have big crowds of young kids in for that one every year. And afterward, we have an instrument petting zoo for kids to get to hold and play some instruments. For a lot of them, it’s their first encounter with an instrument.”
The LLS will celebrate its 40th anniversary season this year in a variety of ways, beginning with a reception will follow the first concert of the Symphony Series on Sept. 22.
“At our November concert, we are going to recognize some people who have been around all 40 years and we’ll play some music we did at our first concert in 1984,” Ming said.
“We’re assembling a lot of looking back over the last four decades,” Wright added.
Wright and Ming both encouraged residents in the community to come hear “great music, nearby.”
“Our most frequently heard comment from a first-time attendee is they had no idea we had such an outstanding professional orchestra in our community, so come out and see what they’re talking about,” Wright said. “Once people come, they come back.”
LLS offers a high-quality performance without having to drive all the way to downtown Dallas or Fort Worth and pay for parking.
“This is right here in your own background,” Ming said. “We perform music that is a mixture of familiar pieces and somethings off the beaten path that will appeal to the audience … accessible to the public, challenging for the orchestra, and enjoyable for all.”
The first Symphony Series concert will feature Julia Grünbaum, winner of the LLS’ international competition for harp and strings, on Sept. 22 at the Lewisville Grand Theater.
For tickets to that or any other LLS concert, or more information about the organization and its programs, click here.
