Centre Strings will hold its first rehearsal of the year Tuesday, Sept. 13, 6:30-7:45 p.m., and concert string musicians of any age who are interested in joining are welcome to attend.
The student and community string orchestra does not have formal auditions. Anyone who has been playing the violin, viola, cello, or upright bass for at least two years is welcome to join rehearsals, which are held each Tuesday evening in room 607 at the Central Educational Center.
Centre Strings is Coweta County’s only community-student string ensemble, and serves as the in-house strings orchestra for the Nixon Centre for the Performing and Visual Arts.
The orchestra is directed by Dr. Lyn Schenbeck, and was founded by Schenbeck and the late Don Nixon. This is the orchestra’s 10th anniversary year.
Since the group’s founding in 2004 it has grown from an original 8 members to 40, with members ranging “ages 8 to 80,” said Schenbeck. The ensemble holds a number of concerts throughout the year, performed at the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts, senior centers and local churches.
Its first concert will be Dec. 13 at the Nixon Centre, and the orchestra will be rehearsing Mozart’s Piano Concerto number 12 (for which they will be joined by pianist Nancy Sessions) as well as works by Bach and Newbold.
Centre Strings is sponsored by the Nixon Centre and the Central Educational Center, and Cargill of Newnan is the group’s patron.
“We are so excited to have Cargill as our Patron,” said Schenbeck. “Their support has enabled us to buy music and repair equipment for our musicians. Our program is about bringing together an entire community with music, and Cargill has helped us do that.”
Schenbeck retired as the Director of the Arts at the Central Educational Center last year, after serving as the schools – and the Coweta County School System’s – first strings instructor, as well as a teacher of music business and music technology. She has taught music on every level for over 40 years, including conducting orchestras and choirs all over the United States and Eastern Europe.
Following her retirement, Doug Keys has taken over as the director of strings performance at the Central Educational Center and Pat Patten has come to the school to serve as its director of music technology.
The orchestra will also prepare this year for its Spring Concert, which will include special guest performers and will feature an original work by Pat Patten’s son, Zach Patten.
Those interested in joining the orchestra this year can visit the Sept. 13 rehearsal or, to get more information, may contact Schenbeck at 770-683-6837 or atlynmusic@numail.org.
