The Bozeman Symphony has a very specific mission: To engage, unite and uplift the human experience in Montana through music and the arts. Marketing director Jennah Applebaum tells the public for a full experience on the background of the symphony, they should read Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley, by author Phyllis Smith, who shares the beginning of the Bozeman Symphony and their first performance in 1910 at the Gem Theater. Following performances at the Gem Theater, the Symphony would go on to perform at the Ellen Theatre. The present version of the Bozeman Symphony was established on January 11th, 1968 as an outgrowth of the earlier Montana State University Symphony Orchestra, and currently, Willson Audition is primarily where the performances are held. Jennah has been with the symphony since June and hails from Oklahoma City where she worked as a band director and elementary music teacher. Her husband won the trombone audition last January and fell in love with Bozeman while flying back and forth for concerts, so taking the position at the symphony made perfect sense. One of the things she is really excited about is the new marketing campaign which starts in May and will be the biggest of the year. “Right now it’s a secret, but we will be doing our reveal of the upcoming season and making sure our community and neighboring communities learn about the exciting season we have ahead! I can’t talk about it yet, but I am very excited about the music we’ll be presenting next season!” For the remainder of this season she is especially excited about the season finale on June 10 and 11: Mahler’s “Titan” Symphony No. 1 and Simone Porter.
The Bozeman Symphony is also very much involved in community events and sponsors programs such as the Far Afield program and a variety of children’s concerts. The Far Afield program was established in 1992, taking Bozeman Symphony chamber ensembles (smaller groups, usually of 4 or 5 musicians) to rural communities to present free performances. It enables the audience to see, hear, and feel the music being created live. And family concerts have been a tradition for 28 years and have finally returned since the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are thrilled to be able to bring these back, and look forward to continuing them,” Jennah said. “We’re also hoping to expand in this area by developing new children’s programming as well as increasing outreach and partnerships for our 4th-grade concert series.”
The symphony also has a new music director as of 2020, Mr. Norman Huynh. “Norman is amazing,” Jennah said. “ If you’ve come to one of our concerts, you know how charismatic he is! He is genuinely just as warm and kind behind the scenes as he is on the stage. He cares enough to get to know every musician and staff member and even goes out into the lobby after concerts to meet audience members and thank them for coming- that is a rare quality in a music director. Not to mention, he is an amazing talent! He rehearses the orchestra masterfully and guest conducts in big symphonies all over the country. We are extremely lucky to be his home symphony!”
For those looking to get involved with the symphony on a volunteer basis there are four main ways to contribute: Selling rush tickets, volunteering at concerts, volunteering in the office, and hanging posters around town. And, volunteers receive the perk of free concert attendance! • “Volunteering for rush ticket sales is a great way to engage with younger music enthusiasts at MSU,” Jennah said. “As a volunteer, you sell discounted tickets to students on campus. Some Music students love to help spread the word to their peers and it’s a great way to get other college students to attend performances- some of whom may be completely unfamiliar with the symphony.”
Another thing worth mentioning is the “Ode to Joy” campaign which started on Valentine’s day. The board of directors is doing a 2x match (example: someone gives $1, and the board then gives $2 for a total of $3) to help the symphony reach its goal of $300k. “This campaign is our biggest fundraiser of the year and impacts what we are able to provide for the community - especially performances we don’t sell tickets to, like our Family Concert, Far Afield, and last year’s performance at the Sweet Pea Festival,” Jennah said,
Bozeman Symphony’s seasons run from September each year with a finale this season on June 10 and 11. It is not sold out yet but has hit a record number of subscribers this season- over 1,000! This is quite an accomplishment as it not only speaks to the work the symphony is doing, but also to the excitement and support the Bozeman community has for orchestral music!