Published on: Thursday, October 13, 2011

By Lyndsey Wallen

Music is in the air as the Prince George’s Philharmonic prepares to kick off its 46th season this weekend, including a performance from a special guest conductor.

The Prince George’s Philharmonic has been bringing symphonic music to the county since 1964. The Philharmonic presents a five-concert season, with performances in October, November, February, March, and May.

The first concert will be at 8 p.m. Saturday at Prince George’s Community College and will feature County Executive Rushern L. Baker III as a guest conductor. Baker has been a strong advocate for the arts since his campaign, according to Charles Ellis, music director of the Prince George’s Philharmonic. 

Ellis said audiences can look forward to, “Lots and lots of variety and wide difference of styles of music — music of all nationalities, music of all stylistic periods.”

The Philharmonic also provides variety in performance venues. The group rotates between performing at the Clarice Center of the Performing Arts at the University of Maryland, the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts and Prince George’s Community College. The different venues, Ellis said, make the Philharmonic accessible to more people.

“We really bring our music to the community by performing around the county,” he said.

The Philharmonic is a volunteer orchestra made up of musicians from all walks of life; the youngest member is in high school and the oldest member is in his 80s. Many of the members majored in music in college but now do something else for a living, Ellis said. 

“It’s extremely gratifying … you see folks coming into rehearsal and they may have had a lousy day at school or a tough day at the office,” Ellis said. “But after they play for 15 or 20 minutes, it just all melts away. They become an orchestra that’s engaged with the music.”

Ellis said another goal of the Philharmonic is to engage young people in symphonic music through their educational mission. Anyone under the age of 18 gets into the Philharmonic concerts free. 

The Philharmonic also reaches out to young musicians in the county. They subsidize lessons for kids who would otherwise be unable to study privately on their instruments. They also offer master classes and a side-by-side program where the best young orchestral players in the county are invited to play with the Philharmonic for one concert a year. 

But Ellis said the Philharmonic wants to engage the entire community in symphonic music.

“I am looking forward to the day when we have to call the police to arrest the scalpers from out in front of our hall,” Ellis said.

Ellis explained the Philharmonic is truly an experience for anyone and described attending a concert as a “low-risk way to engage with symphonic music.”

Ellis said he is excited about the upcoming season.

“The one thing that excites me most is just continuing to build our audience. Our ticket sales are up … despite the recession. That tells me that we’re reaching more people and that we’re actually attracting people to Prince George’s County to attend a cultural event,” he said.

“I turn around to welcome the audience and I see more and more people at every concert, and that is profoundly rewarding,” Ellis added.

For tickets to the upcoming concerts or for information on becoming a member of the Prince George’s Philharmonic, visit pgphilharmonic.org.