There is nothing like listening to live music in a concert setting. We invite you to experience professional performances of symphonic works, both classic and modern.
Purchase extra or individual concert tickets for a specific concert for Adults ($50 each) or Students/Children ($15 each).
Tickets ordered within one week of the concert date can be picked up at Will Call at the concert. Call 912-634-2006 for questions or additional information.
Click on ORDER FORM, print the form and mail to our address listed.
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The Symphony is committed to offering performances of the finest in symphonic music. Your membership in the Crescendo Circle ensures our professional symphony can shine even brighter as the premier musical organization in the community.
The Symphony is a rare gem, drawing professional musicians from major cities across the Southeast and audiences from throughout the Golden Isles. The Symphony’s music director and conductor, Michelle Merrill, has extensive experience conducting symphonies coast to coast.
The Coastal Symphony draws those who love symphonic music into the performance hall and takes the music to smaller audiences with Salons and SoundBites events, Musical Mentors visits to area schools, and conductor-led speaker events.
Participation in the Crescendo Circle includes these benefits:
All Levels:
$2,500 and Above
$5,000 and Above
Please become a member of the Crescendo Circle and join us in Raising the Baton!
The Coastal Symphony of Georgia, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
| Violin II* | Flute | Trumpet |
| Viola | Oboe* | Trombone* |
| Cello | Clarinet* | Tuba* |
| Bass* | Bassoon | Timpani* |
| Harp | Horn* | Percussion |
*Currently available for sponsorship
The contribution may be paid in one installment, or in annual installments over three years. Named Chairs contributions are tax deductible within the extent of the law.
For more information: coastalsymphonyofgeorgia@gmail.com
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912-634-2006.
The Coastal Symphony of Georgia serves audiences and communities throughout the Golden Isles and the world through the power of musical performance.
We are deeply grateful to the following businesses, families and individuals who are supporting symphonic arts. We ask that you visit and engage in business with these companies, say hello to those you meet in the intermission hallway, and give a hand for those who support the magical impacts our Symphony will continue to deliver.
THANK YOU
Platinum ($5,000)
Gold ($2,500)
Silver ($1,000)
Bronze ($625)
Friends ($275)
Supporting ($175)
For sponsorship information contact Sharon Flores at coastalsymphonyofgeorgia@gmail.com.
Your support ushers the joy of music to everyone possible through innovative concert and public space performances, events, and music education programs. Play your part by making a gift today.
The Coastal Symphony of Georgia is committed to offering performances of the finest in symphonic music, now and in the future. Become an important partner in the artistic life of our community to ensure this local professional symphony can continue to shine as the premier musical organization in the Golden Isles. We thank you.
Your support will be widely recognized, reaching thousands of potential customers and clients online and in our direct-mailed newsletters, season programs, and with stage recognition and onsite signage at premier levels.
Your support ushers the joy of music to everyone possible through innovative concert and public space performances, events, and music education programs. Play your part by making a gift today.
The Coastal Symphony of Georgia is committed to offering performances of the finest in symphonic music, now and in the future. Become an important partner in the artistic life of our community to ensure this local professional symphony can continue to shine as the premier musical organization in the Golden Isles. We thank you.
Your support will be widely recognized, reaching thousands of potential customers and clients online and in our direct-mailed newsletters, season programs, and with stage recognition and onsite signage at premier levels.
The vivacious, colorful, and somewhat mysterious Carnival Overture (1891) opens the concert in a festive setting that Brahms called “merry.” Dvořák’s music was written for the second piece of a trilogy of overtures titled Nature, Life, Othello. The Bohemian composer gives special notice to a single tambourine that plays a large role at the end of the piece.
Piston’s Ballet Suite (1938) follows, complete with dances, the arrival of a circus, a flutist who charms snakes – and women – and a polka finale set in a marketplace teeming with activity. The music is colorful, tuneful, and engaging. Be sure to listen for the dog!
Beach’s Symphony (1896), influenced by the melodies of Boston’s large Irish immigrant population at the time, closes the concert. Beach was responding to Dvořák’s invitation to American composers to write a distinctly American sound possibly including Native American and African American elements. But Beach, writing the first symphony by an American woman to gain public attention, was attracted to what she called the “simple, rugged, and unpretentious beauty” of Irish music.
Carlos Simon says he was influenced by an excerpt from Homer’s Iliad that he found in one of Beethoven’s journals – “But fate now conquers, I am hers…” – as well as the fluid harmonic structure of the 2nd movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony. The result is frenzied arpeggios and free-flowing running passages in Fate Now Conquers, depicting the uncertainty of life that hovers over us. The piece was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2020.
A mother-and-son theme informs the second piece on the program in Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll (1870.) Originally titled The Tribschen Idyll, the symphonic poem presented in sonata form celebrates private joys, domestic bliss, and the birth of a son. It has been described as a sumptuous piece of music that expresses his paternal and romantic love.
Beethoven’s brilliant Symphony No. 3, Eroica, closes the program. It is considered a milestone work of classical-style composition and marks the beginning of the Romantic period in classical music. Gigantic in scope, the symphony covers a wealth of emotional ground thematically and launches Beethoven’s creative middle period, unrivaled for its astonishing output.
The concert begins with the youthful exuberance of Britten’s Simple Symphony (1933.) Based on eight themes, two per movement, the music uses bits of scores he had written for piano as a teenager. Just 20 when he completed the symphony, Britten gives us a Boisterous Bourrée, a Playful Pizzicato, a Sentimental Sarabande, and a Frolicsome Finale. Prepare to be delighted!
Hugosson’s Samarthana (2021) follows. The young, Swedish composer has been described as “a national treasure” whose music is known for memorable melodies, both moving and joyful. International violist Brett Deubner will join the orchestra for this piece, as well as Part’s Fratres (1977/1991). This work uses the tintinnabuli principle: not one but two melody voices a tenth apart, plus a third fill-in voice in the middle, resulting in a rather meditative effect.
One of Mozart’s most frequently performed and greatly admired works closes the concert. Listen for the recognizable melody in the first movement and the resounding, swiftly ascending passage in the fourth. This is Mozart in a more serious mood, and it is only one of two symphonies he wrote in the minor key.
Snider’s piece was commissioned by the Detroit Symphony in 2016 as a result of her receiving the DSO Elaine Lebenbom Award for Female Composers in 2014. She says thinking about Detroit caused her to think about resilience – what it means to endure. The music opens with a bold statement of hope in the horns and trombones, then takes us through humbling passages to a delicate tune in flute, harp and celeste, and on to a testing tumult before finding a “kind of a clear-eyed serenity – maybe even the kind of hope that endures.”
Reinecke’s work was the last concerto composed before his death in 1910. A contemporary of Schuman, Reinecke shared his fondness for the Romantic Period. The concerto will be performed by Les Roettges, the CSG’s Principal Flute Chair. It allows the flutist to take center stage throughout while pairing with other orchestra members in a cheerful first movement, a slow, dark second movement, and finally stirring the brass and strings into dramatic swells of harmony and texture that lead to a triumphant finale.
The evening closes with Dimitri Shostakovich’s powerful and controversial Fifth Symphony. It was written at the height of Stalin’s purges: a time of death, fear, and artistic repression; and there is a constant sense of urgency, an overwhelming sadness to the music. The public heard the symphony as an expression of the suffering to which it had been subjected; the authorities claimed they found everything in the work they had demanded of Shostakovich.
What is your dream job? I am so grateful to be living mine – working with your Coastal Symphony of Georgia, in this wonderful community, with extraordinary musicians as we celebrate the Symphony’s 41st year.
The opportunity to explore the world through music is the greatest gift I’ve ever received, and I have the best way imaginable to use that gift, right here in the Golden Isles. That’s why, as Music Director and Conductor of The Coastal Symphony of Georgia, I feel blessed to spread the power of music.
Growing up in a small town east of Dallas, I found my passion for music one Halloween night when a business card promoting piano lessons came attached to a candy bar. From the moment I made that call and got a piano, the whole world came alive for me in a new way.
Now beginning my fifth year working with CSG, I’m still personally moved whenever I meet members of our audiences and hear firsthand how music changes lives.
Live orchestral music has the power to express emotions without ever saying a word. It has the power to heal the mind, touch the soul, and reach people at their core. Every year at the CSG, we are delivering the power of music to our great community, and we want you to come back to be a part of it all!
Our concerts have something for everyone – classics such as Beethoven’s Eroica and Mozart’s Great G Major Symphonies; thought-provoking works such as Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony and Aarvo Part’s Fratres; and fun and exciting concert favorites such as Dvořák’s Carnival Overture.
With your subscription, you join me and your fellow patrons in supporting the exciting future of the Symphony and our vibrant community as we continue our mission to bring world-class music to all.
On behalf of the CSG musicians, staff, board, audiences, and the Golden Isles community, thank you for helping me to live my “dream job” and for sharing the gift of great orchestral music.
Sincerely,
Music Director, Coastal Symphony of Georgia
The 41st Anniversary Season of The Coastal Symphony of Georgia begins October 9, 2023 and continues until April 29, 2023. During the past 40 years we have grown from a volunteer community orchestra to the fully professional premier musical organization in the Golden Isles. We are grateful to those who have gone before, and we are so excited about providing excellence in symphonic music in the years ahead.
We could not have accomplished any of this without the support and enthusiasm of our patrons, donors, advertisers, sponsors, and volunteer “working” boards of directors. Heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you.
Our 41st Season promises to inspire, enchant and engage us as Music Director and Conductor, Michelle Merrell, will take us on another journey of musical discovery. Three concerts will be held at Brunswick High School and one at Wesley United Methodist Church at Frederica on St. Simons Island.
Don’t forget to order your tickets for a season you won’t want to miss. Keep visiting our website and watch for our newsletters. We promise to keep you informed.
If you have questions, feel free to contact the Symphony voicemail at 912-634-2006 and a representative will return your call – or email coastalsymphonyofgeorgia@gmail.com
Kern Baker,
President, Board of Directors
Michelle Merrill enters her 6th season as Music Director of The Coastal Symphony of Georgia. She describes this as living her dream and feels blessed to help spread the power of music in the Golden Isles. Merrill continues to design symphony programs of superlative quality for our audiences. She often plans pieces composed by women and composers of color and enjoys planning music from both the old masters and new works alike.
Merrill is a recipient of the 2016 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, and the prestigious 2013 Ansbacher Conducting Fellowship, awarded by members of Vienna Philharmonic and American Austrian Foundation, which enabled her to be in residence at the world-renowned Salzburg Festival. As a passionate and dynamic artist, she is the Symphony’s ambassador with community speaking engagements and also assists in development of SoundBites events and in-school Musical Mentors program.
A strong advocate of new music, Merrill recently conducted three Joan Tower works at Round Top Music Festival Institute in celebration of the composer’s 80th birthday, featuring soloists Carol Wincenc on flute and Brett Deubner on viola. She worked with composer Gabriela Lena Frank and soprano Jessica Rivera on Frank’s work La Centinela y la Paloma (The Keeper and the Dove), as a part of numerous community programs related to the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Prior to Ms. Merrill’s leadership in the Golden Isles, she served four years as Associate Conductor of Detroit Symphony Orchestra as the Phillip and Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador. Her conducting engagements have included symphonies and opera houses spanning cities coast to coast and in Toronto, Canada.
Merrill led the world premiere performance of Gabriela Lena Frank’s Walkabout: Concerto for Orchestra in 2017 with Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She made her debut at St. Augustine Music Festival conducting the world-premiere performance of Piotr Szewcyzk’s St. Augustine Suite written in honor of that city’s 450th anniversary. The highly praised 2015 performance was featured on NPR’s “Performance Today”.
Ms. Merrill stepped in on short notice with Meadows Symphony Orchestra for their performance of Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony, which music critic Scott Cantrell of The Dallas Morning News described as “stunning” and later named to his list of Top Ten Classical Performances of 2014.
Born in Dallas, Texas, Michelle Merrill studied conducting with Dr. Paul C. Phillips at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts, where she holds a Master of Music degree in conducting and a Bachelor of Music in performance. She loves cooking, running, hiking, and spending time with her husband, Steve Merrill, principal percussionist with both Coastal Symphony of Georgia and Jacksonville Symphony, and their two sons.
We began in 1982 as the vision of two public school music teachers who helped establish the Brunswick Community Orchestra. In 1994, we were renamed The Coastal Symphony of Georgia, Inc. (CSG) and professional conductors were hired to direct the community-based orchestra. In time, professional musicians were added to the mix and, in 2013, Maestro Luis Haza took the orchestra entirely professional with a vision to provide the best in musical excellence for the community. That vision and commitment continues today under the baton of Michelle Merrill who joined us as Music Director and Conductor after Haza’s retirement.
Entering her sixth season, Merrill continues to design symphony programs of superlative quality for our audiences. She often plans pieces composed by women and composers of color and enjoys planning music from both the old masters and new works alike.
Musical Mentors allows children to connect with orchestra musicians and visiting professional musicians. We come to classrooms. The students interact with the musicians as they play and explain their instruments, and often the students are invited to play music on specially designed children’s instruments.
If you would like to support our musical mentors program, click here.
Elizabeth Kelly, composer; James Jenkins, tuba; and Barbara Careaga-Mitchell, violin, present a 5-day workshop each fall in-classroom: “Reaching for the Stars: Reinventing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ in Collaboration with Professional Musicians” as students “journey” with the Apollo 11 team.
• See how students at Glyndale Elementary School learned about theme and variation with The Coastal Symphony of Georgia visiting mentors.
We strive to bring high quality musical experiences to public spaces beyond our stages. It’s about re-introducing classical music to people who may not have an opportunity to hear our musicians play or are not aware of public performances. We do this by partnering with community organizations on events in which a small CSG ensemble performs. These events are typically free to the public and are accessible.
Recently, Coastal Symphony musicians joined in the celebration of the 250th Birthday of Historic Downtown Brunswick with a performance of Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky. Offering a CSG birthday gift to the city were Ann Hertler and Ingan Han, violin; Angelo Goderre, viola; and Betsy Federman, cello.
The quartet performed the Mendelssohn String Quartet No. 6 in F minor (1846); it was the last, major piece of music the composer wrote before he died, and was composed in homage to his sister, Fanny, who had died earlier that year.
Conversely, the Tchaikovsky String Quartet No. 1 (1871) was written near the beginning of the composer’s career. It is said that one of the movements brought the author, Leo Tolstoy, to tears when it was performed at a tribute concert in his name.
The Jacoby Brass Quintet was honored to provide the music for a Memorial Day observance in the new Veterans Park in downtown Brunswick, presented by the Veterans Council of the Golden Isles. Symphony musicians who formed the Quintet were Aaron Brask, horn principal; Chris Graham, trombone principal; Tristan Clarke, trumpet principal; Michael Harper, trumpet; and James Jenkins, tuba. The Quintet performed the Armed Forces Medley, a musical salute to every branch of the military. To close the ceremony, Clarke and Harper performed the very moving Echo Taps, with one trumpet echoing the other.
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