04 Sep 2024 Conway Symphony Orchestra celebrates four decades of concerts and 20 years with director

Posted at 10:09 PMh in Features by

By KD Reep

The Conway Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is one of Central Arkansas’s hidden treasures. What began in 1984 as a joint venture between the music departments of the University of Central Arkansas and Hendrix College is now an orchestra comprised of professional musicians hailing from throughout the globe as well as pre-professional music scholarship students.

Suzanne Loerch (from left), Judy Harkrider and Israel “Izzy” Getzov stand above the stage at the Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts Concert Hall, where most of the Conway Symphony Orchestra’s (CSO) season will be performed. Loerch is the general manager of CSO, Harkrider is the chair of the board and Getzov is the conductor and music director. Photo by Mike Kemp.

“It wasn’t called the Conway Symphony Orchestra when I arrived here,” said Israel “Izzy” Getzov, conductor and music director of CSO and a faculty member at UCA. “It was called the civic orchestra, and what they were trying to do was bring a classical music experience to college students. Before I arrived, I think the primary drivers of the orchestra were the musicians, both faculty and student, wanting to get together and play music and share it. When I came in, I developed a strategy to broaden our audience because Central Arkansas was growing so much. It was just starting to really take off, and there were a lot more resources in the community than there were in the mid-80s.”

Getzov will celebrate 20 years with the orchestra this season, as CSO commemorates 40 years of elevating the arts in the 501. When Getzov arrived, he realized there were talented professional musicians in the area, but they were not all playing with CSO. Today, these professional musicians are compensated for their time and talent.

“We are able to recruit more and better music students, not just from Arkansas but from around the world,” he explained. “We have musicians from many different countries. The community supporting CSO now does so because they want to connect with music. We explain why we perform what we do and why those pieces are valuable to the audience, and make sure to connect with the audience so they feel a real part of the concerts.”

Judy Harkrider, chair of the CSO board, agrees. “CSO is woven into the fabric of Central Arkansas,” she said. “It’s now the premier performing arts organization in the city of Conway, and our board is a major reason. We were looking for a way to diversify the board members to represent all aspects of Central Arkansas to find the resources and commitment from the community to make CSO the best it can be, and our board said yes to this vision and ran with it. They’ve built CSO to what it is today.”

The mission of the orchestra, however, remains the same: provide inspired classical music experiences. The group’s primary purpose is to provide high-quality, professional musical performances and educational programs through the support of corporate and individual donors and fundraising events. This keeps tickets affordable and makes the enjoyment of classical and popular music available to a wide range of patrons. 

The full orchestra performed circa 2001-02 in the Conway High School auditorium.

“Within the past eight years, we’ve added a full concert without raising ticket prices, created a season ticket option for faculty/staff, and expanded our discounted child/student price to all youth and college students, broadening our availability to a whole new generation,” said Suzanne Loerch, general manager of CSO. “Izzy prides himself on making the music accessible and enjoyable, providing commentary interspersed with his musical selections at every performance.”

Loerch’s goal is expanding CSO’s educational outreach programs, and the breadth of offerings already available is impressive. In addition to bringing music into elementary and intermediate school classrooms, CSO added a children’s program and concert at the Faulkner County Library last year, and it regularly invites the clients of Independent Living Services to be guests at concert performances. They also provide concert vouchers to families involved in Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Haven House, and at schools across Conway. It also supports community fundraisers through the donation of hundreds of tickets to local health care facilities, schools, civic groups, children’s programs, the Humane Society and other arts organizations. All of this is provided for free. 

“In nine years, we’ve reached more than 20,000 students through close to 400 visits to public, private and parochial schools, home school groups, a center for adults with disabilities, preschool programs and Boys & Girls Clubs,” Loerch said. “We have an international exchange relationship with conservatories and orchestras in China that grows every year, and we present an annual outdoor concert that is completely free to the public. We also collaborate with other arts organizations in the area to strengthen regional arts programs.”

Conductor John Roscigno at the 2002 “Lights over the Lake” concert at Beaverfork Park Lake.

“There’s something unique about Conway and the energy and the people who want to share in engaging and entertaining experiences,” Harkrider said. “I feel like we’ve crafted our organization around the idea to make it unique. The symphony becomes part of the audience’s lives, and they connect in a way that is just as unique–the people on stage are your neighbors and students and friends, and that’s rare in any symphony.”

The upcoming season will no doubt prove to be just as exceptional as the orchestra performing it. While most performances will be held at Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts on the UCA campus, the six-concert series includes a free concert in Laurel Park on Sept. 20, which will feature everything from Tchaikovsky to the music from the Muppets.

On Oct. 27, CSO is bringing in a young, national-level cello soloist, John-Henry Crawford. “He is amazing! He studied on the East Coast, lives in New York, and has family in Arkansas,” Getzov said. “In addition, we’ve asked UCA’s own Paul Dickinson, composer and professor of music, to write an original piece based on Conway’s roundabouts. In December, we’re bringing in the UCA chorus as well as Prof. Joanne Arushi to sing solo, which will be a Christmas show like we haven’t seen. It will include music from Handel’s Messiah, John Williams, “Home Alone,” traditional Christmas favorites, all sorts of things. Santa will also be attending, and there will be a special, unnamed, surprise guest conductor for that concert. 

Rounding out the season in 2025 is a partnership with UCA to perform a film score from “Ghostbusters,” and the final performance will feature a chamber orchestra repertoire featuring an oboe soloist from Bolivia.