Pictured: Principal Percussionist Dean Anderson with glockenspiel.

Punta Gorda Symphony is thrilled to announce a grant award from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation. The grant of just under $12,000 was awarded in the fall of 2019, and the last of the purchases recently arrived at the PGSymphony offices. Intended for capital improvements to increase organizational effectiveness on stage, this Selby grant enabled Punta Gorda Symphony to acquire instruments and equipment that are often rented or borrowed by smaller orchestras like ours. Among the more noticeable additions will be a glockenspiel, a Roland keyboard, a Pearl drum set, new music folios for our musicians, and a new conductor’s stand and rehearsal chair for Maestro Raffaele Ponti.

“The particular percussion instruments we chose to buy really round out our orchestra,” explains Maestro Ponti. “Before, we would have to borrow these from musicians or substitute a similar instrument with a lesser voice. Owning them means now we can always produce the quality and character of sound our audiences have come to admire.”

Principal Percussionist Dean Anderson is understandably excited about the acquisitions of a new Pearl drum set and a vintage Fall Creek glockenspiel. The glockenspiel, while used, was a great deal for the orchestra since it costs so much more as a new item. Dean had performed on this instrument many times in Boston with different orchestras and loves its sound. “It's a full-toned, long sustain, and perfectly pitched instrument,” he says, “that will upgrade Punta Gorda Symphony’s sound.”

According to Executive Director Craig Badinger, these modest improvements will have a big impact. “Especially the conductor’s chair,” he laughs. “Maestro Ponti leads the orchestra through a total of nine hours of rehearsal before a Sunday evening performance. That’s a long time to go without a comfortable chair!”

This is the second time the organization was awarded such a grant. In 2015 the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation awarded $60,000 to what was then named the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra for capital improvements to the Charlotte Performing Arts Center (CPAC). This collaborative project enhanced audio and technical capability at the CPAC facility, which is owned and operated by Charlotte County Schools, and which benefits the school’s students as well as the many arts organizations that share performance scheduling in what has become a quality community asset.

Punta Gorda Symphony is scheduled to begin its 2020-2021 season on November 22 with a concert featuring Principal Percussionist Dean Anderson on marimba, and successive performances featuring renowned soloists on violin, viola, piano, and voice. While no details are available yet for publication, like many performing arts organizations, Punta Gorda Symphony’s leadership is laying contingency plans in the event COVID-19 social distancing guidelines preclude a normal public concert format. One way or another, the new Selby-funded instruments will be showcased in the coming season for our Charlotte County and regional audiences to enjoy.

Pictured: Principal Percussionist Dean Anderson with glockenspiel.