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The
Starlight Symphony Orchestra
began in early 2002 as an idea of Wimberley resident and clarinetist
Dick Kinas. A long time member of the Wimberley Players
theater organization, Kinas was considering expanding the Wimberley
Players dream of building a new playhouse to include creating a
performing arts center for the surrounding community. He figured
an orchestra would be a good way to head down that path of expansion,
and soon, he was talking with Jenny Benedict, Pat Surguy, and Jeri
Ross, who had all also been thinking about establishing a string
orchestra in the Central Texas area.
Dripping
Strings resident Pat Surguy has played violin for 30 years
with numerous orchestras and currently performs with the Austin
Civic Orchestra and in chamber ensembles. Her experience and knowledge
of the orchestral repertoire and performance etiquette made her
the perfect candidate to serve as Concertmaster for the upstart
organization. Pat also took on the role of music librarian (aided
by the contributions of Doug Koeppe and the Bergan Library
of Music) and personnel manager.
Jenny
Benedict had a wealth of experience helping non-profits achieve
their goals, as well as a number of years playing violin with groups
such as Paula Bird's Advanced Wildflower Suzuki ensemble, the Austin
Philharmonia Orchestra, and with Deanna Badgett's Suzuki Strings
of San Marcos and the Hill Country Suzuki Strings where she and
her daughter studied violin together. They both were looking for
every opportunity to perform in orchestras. Jenny gladly took on
the role of Music Committee Chair. Her organizational skills and
thoughtful planning and foresight helped the committee navigate
the uncharted territory of the new venture. Jenny single-handedly
developed the orchestra's mission and presentation.
"Suzuki-Mom-turned-community-activist-for-education-and-the-arts,"
Jeri Ross, had the requisite skills and motivation to take
on the role of orchestra secretary, which included handling internal
communications with the orchestra members and organizing receptions...in
short, she became "orchestra mom." She had served on several
boards and committees for education. She also had been serving,
along side Dick Kinas, as executive vice-president for the Wimberley
Players with the mission of seeing the new theater through to completion.
Having raised a young violinist, Jeri knew the community orchestra
would be her daughter's only chance to gain orchestral experience,
since funding for the musical arts in the school was limited to
band. Jeri was the only non-musician member of the initial committee.
After
enlisting the aid of Dan Stephens, the Minister of Music
at Wimberley's First Baptist Church, to serve as the Music Director
and Conductor, these stalwart organizers submitted a proposal to
the Wimberley Players board to form a music committee that would
act separately from the Wimberley Players in directing the activities
of the soon-to-be-formed Starlight Symphony Orchestra. This standing
committee would operate under the umbrella of the Wimberley Players,
making the orchestra an affiliated nonprofit group and a future
resident of the planned performing arts center—the Wimberley
Playhouse.
The
Starlight Symphony Orchestra made its debut on April 28, 2003,
in a special performance for the students of Scudder Elementary
School in Wimberley High School's Lone Star Theater. In the
enthusiastically received interactive program, the orchestra played
excerpts from the orchestral repertoire, and then members of the
orchestra gave students a close-up look at their instruments, explaining
the instruments' histories and demonstrating their sounds.
The
first formal programs for the public were then presented in Wimberley
on May 1, 2003 with a program repeat in Dripping Springs on May
16 in the United Methodist Church. Works included Beethoven's Egmont
Overture, Mozart's Eine Kleine Natchtmusik, R. Vaughan
Williams' English Folk Songs Suite, and others.
Although
the dream of a performing arts center in conjunction with the Wimberley
Playhouse was not to be realized, the Starlight Symphony Orchestra
and the Wimberley Players continue to mutually support one another,
and upon occasion, members of each group perform together on the
same stage. The rest, as they say, is history—the Starlight
Symphony Orchestra's short but proud history.
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