Symphony concert draws packed house
SUN PHOTO BY SUE PAQUIN
Maestro T. Francis Wada, music director of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, chats with Bill Jones prior to Saturday's concert at The Center for Performing Arts & Education in Punta Gorda.
SUN PHOTO BY SUE PAQUIN
Barbara Albin and Joan Lasley are ready for a wonderful evening. Lasley is a member of the board of directors of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.
SUN PHOTO BY SUE PAQUIN
Maestro Raffaele Ponti responds to a question posed by Katherine Caldwell at the pre-concert lecture held before the start of the evening's performance. Ponti was the third and last of the guest conductors trying out for the position of the orchestra's next maestro.
SUN PHOTO BY SUE PAQUIN
Joan and J. Raymond Byron of Port Charlotte proudly wear their scarves, designating them as members of the Phantoms of the orchestra, a volunteer organization established to support and raise funds for the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.
SUN PHOTO BY SUE PAQUIN
Bob Schumann, Helen Reynolds and Ken Barber, chairman of the board of directors for the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, look forward to the concert.
SUN PHOTO BY SUE PAQUIN
Gabriel and Zsofia Verebeli attend the concert with 6-year-old Alexia.
SUN PHOTO BY SUE PAQUIN
Maestro Raffaele Ponti leads the orchestra in the opening rendition of Gioacchino Rossini's "La gazza ladra" (The Thieving Magpie).
On Saturday at the Center for Performing Arts & Education in Punta Gorda, guest conductor Raffaele Ponti drew a packed house at the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra’s third and final concert with a series of guest conductors to choose the next maestro for the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Earlier concerts were conducted by Roderick MacDonald and Matthew Wardell, who along with Ponti are vying to replace current Maestro T. Francis Wada, who is retiring at the end of this season.
