Photo via Festival City Symphony
Festival City Symphony
Founded in 1927, the Festival City Symphony is the oldest performing orchestra in Milwaukee. With a mission “to extend the reach of classical music within the Milwaukee-area community,” according to festivalcitysymphony.org, the orchestra offers free concerts for all ages. The organization also partners with local arts nonprofits, including First Stage and the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra. Many orchestra members are also educators with Milwaukee universities and public and private schools.
The Shepherd Express recently interviewed Franklyn Esenberg, Festival City’s CEO, chairman of the board and principal clarinetist, about his lengthy tenure with the orchestra, its upcoming season and its COVID-19 safety protocols.
What’s your musical background and how long have you been playing with the Festival City Symphony?
I’ve been a member of the orchestra since 1959. I got started playing when I was in the army band, at Ft. Louis in Washington, DC—I played lead saxophone. We played for soldiers’ dances and parades. It was a lot of fun! After my stint in the Army, I played with the Lutheran Symphonic Band and then the Civic Orchestra (renamed Festival City Symphony in 1994).
The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly challenging for performing arts communities. How has the pandemic affected the Festival City Symphony? What safety modifications were put in place?
We started playing at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center last year again, under very controlled conditions—players were spaced apart on stage and every player had to wear a mask. They had to cut slits in the mouthpieces so they could play their instruments.
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(Visit festivalcitysymphony.org for more information about this season’s COVID-19 safety protocols).
What are some of the highlights of the new FSO season?
During our four concerts, which include the “Passion, Fate and Faith” concert Oct. 23 and “From Many, One” on March 5, we’ll be performing selections from a variety of composers, including William Grant Still, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Bizet, Dvorak and Copeland.
Besides the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, we are going to be the only other orchestra performing at the Bradley Symphony Center. The acoustics in that venue are just magnificent.
How does the FSO appeal to young people?
Our Pajama Jamboree concerts are very unique. Kids, dressed in pajamas, come to the concerts and listen to the music right in front of the orchestra. Young people aren’t exposed to this type of music very often and last season’s concerts were so popular that we moved them over to the Milwaukee Arts Center. We played Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, and the crowd was so large we spilt the audience in two and played an additional concert.
