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The upcoming 2016-2017 concert season of the Fort Smith Symphony marks John Jeter’s twentieth year as music director. Over the past two decades, regional music lovers have witnessed the transformation of a modest community orchestra into a large fully professional regional orchestra featuring some of the most famous guest soloists in the world. John attributes this stellar achievement to the immensely supportive community and dedicated people involved in and with the Fort Smith Symphony over many years.
The orchestra will be celebrating John’s twentieth season with wonderful concerts, including a special season opening concert on September 11, featuring Joshua Bell. Joshua is the most famous violinist in the world today and one of classical music’s top two or three guest artists, period! His visit is a huge event for the Fort Smith, Arkansas, area.
John’s goal this upcoming season is not only to present great music but also to let people know, if they don’t already, that the symphony is a treasure to the community. In addition to exciting concerts, the symphony’s growing educational programs have made a significant and measurable impact on students throughout the River Valley. Since the creation of in-school programs such as Symphony-in-the-Schools and the free Earquake!TM school concerts, the Symphony has touched the lives of over 80,000 students. John likes to mention anecdotes and statistics that show the large numbers of students who have decided to enroll in school music programs as a result of attending a symphony educational event. “We are making a remarkable, positive impact on the students’ future, and that is very important to us,” John said.
The Symphony credits its success to the tremendous financial support of countless individuals, businesses, companies, and organizations for so many years. John cites this support as a significant reason for dedicating his efforts to the Symphony and the Fort Smith community for two decades. The orchestra receives a level of continued support that rivals ensembles in much larger cities. The Symphony has produced internationally acclaimed recordings; has presented national orchestra original performances, such as the Symphony’s “History of Rock and Roll” concert; has performed ‘big’ city symphony concerts from Wagner to Mahler, and has featured the finest Pops artists such as the Canadian Brass and Byron Stripling. There’s no question that the first twenty years in Fort Smith has been a great ride for John Jeter. He has many future seasons already planned, so it sounds like he will be here for years to come!
For details about the upcoming 2016-2017 season, visit fortsmithsymphony.org.
