Foothills Philharmonic Newsletters

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Have you noticed some new things about Foothills Philharmonic this year? Our 25th Anniversary Season is a milestone, and we are celebrating with new initiatives, new logos, new signs, and new concerts. We are several concerts into our season and we are just getting started. So many things cannot be missed during the Christmas season: home decorating, caroling, ugly Christmas sweaters, and, of course, the Foothills Philharmonic annual Christmas Pops concert. Nothing heralds the season like a concert of your holiday favorites, so this concert is a must see. It’s so popular, we we will perform this concert in a larger hall, so please note the location change for Christmas Pops to Fairview Baptist Church on December 14 at 7pm.

I have a riddle for you: What is educational, musical, and fun for all ages? If you said the brand-new Family Concert, you’re right! Bring the whole family, and come to hear some of the great standards and to learn a little something about how music impacts us. Although this concert is kid-friendly, it is designed for children, parents, grandparents — and all who are young at heart. We are starting this concert earlier. Mark your calendars: Family Concert: February 8 at 6:00pm. We don’t want you to be late! Have you attended our Chamber Concerts at the Greer Cultural Arts Center? I think these concerts are a special treat. They are in a smaller hall, a more intimate setting where you can be “up close and personal” with the musicians, while enjoying great music. Our String Quartet returns on November 16 at 7pm with some of your requested favorite composers. You are a vital part of our community, and I want to take a moment to thank you. Not only does your support make what we do possible, but you also make it rewarding and fun. Together we are making great music!   -- Kory Vrieze, Artistic Director

Although Foothills Philharmonic has been in existence for 25 years, it still is a hidden gem in the cultural fabric of the Upstate — but once people find it, they keep coming back. Whether players or audience, people come, and they stay. As a result, both the orchestra and audience have grown. 

Today, the orchestra is a full symphony and draws its audience from all over the Upstate. It remains a group of talented, dedicated musicians who love to create harmony together to share with you, our Foothills Community. In 2011, Kory Vrieze was chosen as Artistic Director. He would maintain the quality standard that had existed since the beginning — but would also chart a new course for the group. 

From the beginning, Kory assessed the ability of the players and chose music to challenge them to expand their capabilities. For his first concert in 2011, he ambitiously programmed Fanfare for the Common Man and Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. Under his leadership the players rose to the occasion. 

Soon he was programming works like Symphonie Fantastique, The Planets, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. The year before the Pandemic hit, Foothills performed Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 and Danse Macabre. Scheherazade was supposed to be on the concert when Covid cancelled the rest of the season. It was finally performed in September this year. 

Recently, he has been challenging both the audience and the players with works by lesser-known composers. Few in the audience and the orchestra had ever heard the works of Joseph Suk, but that concert turned out to be an emotional outpouring rarely experienced. At a Foothills concert, the community has a chance to hear for free, not only blockbuster classical music — but also music you just don’t hear anywhere else. 

Kory has built both the orchestra and the audience by making sure that there is something in each concert for everyone. Some orchestra instruments are featured most of the time, like the strings. In some works, the tuba or the triangle often spend a lot of time counting rests, or don’t play at all. Kory makes sure they are featured on other works. 

At concerts, the audience is part of the experience. It’s the energy between orchestra and audience that makes live music special. Foothills programs are always a balance between music that demands your concentration and music you just can’t stop tapping our toe to.