The Bryan Symphony Orchestra celebrated its return to Derryberry Hall with a ribbon cutting ceremony on the Tennessee Tech campus Thursday, marking a homecoming as the orchestra begins its 63rd season.
Executive Director of the Bryan Symphony Orchestra Susan Miranda said the orchestra’s return to the hall is about more than where the musicians perform. The organization has built its new “Season of Connections” around bringing audiences, musicians and the community together.
“I think the goal is for people to walk away having felt something,” Miranda said. “Whether they smile at a specific moment, whether they are moved emotionally in some way, or even whether they see a friend across the aisle.”
Miranda said Derryberry Hall carries particular significance for the orchestra because it is where the ensemble performed its first concerts in 1963. The orchestra typically performs in the Bryan Fine Arts building, which is undergoing construction this season.
“So 1963, 63rd season, we’re back where we started, it’s a big homecoming and we are calling it our season of connections,” Miranda said.
The orchestra has grown considerably since its beginnings as the Tennessee Tech community orchestra. Its current roster brings Tennessee Tech professors and students together with professional musicians from Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga.
“And so it’s a homecoming to the physical space, but it’s also just this expansion of community and middle Tennessee and the upper Cumberland,” Miranda said.
That history also extends to people who remain involved with the organization today. Board Chair Mindy Richards once performed in the community orchestra and held her senior recital on the Derryberry Hall stage. Miranda said Richards shares more of that history in a story included in the orchestra’s season magazine.
The “Season of Connections” will explore several musical styles throughout the year, including a performance of music by orchestra namesake Charles Faulkner Bryan in April. Sunday’s season opener, Appalachian Connections, includes a mandolin concerto and music from Tennessee composer Jennifer Higdon.
“The fact that we’re just back and knowing that, in 1963, several musicians did what our musicians today are going to do on that stage on Sunday way back 63 years ago is very moving,” Miranda said.
The return also brings some changes for concertgoers. Patrons will use different parking arrangements at the T.J. Farr building and Henderson Hall, while the orchestra is utilizing the second and third floors of Derryberry Hall for balcony seating and a new VIP lounge for donors.
The first concert of the season is scheduled for Sunday.
