The Williamsburg Symphonia had more than just music in store for the final program of its current season.
Board president Ingrid Brown announced April 18 and 19 the Symphonia has changed its name to The Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra.
Brown announced the news at both closing performances to the orchestra’s 2015-2016 Masterworks Concert Series.
“We think the word ‘symphony’ represents much clearer who we are,” said music director Janna Hymes.
Hymes said the word “symphonia” brings to mind a small, amateur group. And though the group was founded 32 years ago as an ensemble of volunteer musicians, it has evolved into a professional orchestra that, in January, made its international debut at the Bermuda Festival of the Performing Arts.
“The name reflects the exquisite quality of the music that’s produced and renown that our orchestra has achieved,” Brown said.
“There has been, what I call, an extraordinary evolution,” she continued.
Years ago, Carol and Elnore Andersen, Marian Harding, Mary Selby and Rebecca Siegel founded the Symphonia, hoping to provide classical music education to children. The Symphonia’s inaugural performance, a free concert in Williamsburg Library Theatre, occurred May 6, 1984. This led to a regular schedule of concerts.
The group continued evolving by hiring first permanent music director Ruben Vartanyan, changing venues and expanding programming. The biggest transformation, though, began with hiring Hymes in 2004, executive director Carolyn Keurajian said.
“The level of musicianship has grown since Janna Hymes arrived on the scene,” Keurajian said.
The orchestra now contains about 50 professional musicians, many from top music programs around the country.
The change in name has been in the works for close to a year. Brown said “symphonia” often raised questions among those unfamiliar with the group.
“Is this a community group? Are they volunteers?” Brown said. “What does a symphonia mean?”
“We think that we’re going to now have more people recognize who we are and know about us,” Hymes said. “We think it’s going to brand us in a way that’s much stronger than what we had before.”
Keurajian said changing the name to “symphony” will also better support Williamsburg’s brand as an arts destination.
“(Symphony) does resonate with people,” Keurajian said. “It just speaks to them immediately. They know what it is.”
Apart from a new name, the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra will remain the group beloved by its supporters.
“We’re going to continue to be the orchestra of Williamsburg,” Brown said. Thus, the new tagline: “Our Symphony!”
The orchestra will maintain its size and identity, its programming variety and community involvement.
“We do it all,” Hymes said. “I don’t know if the entire city knows that yet.”
“That’s the message that we want to get across,” she said.
Bridges can be reached by phone at 757-345-2342.
Learn more at the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra’s new website: williamsburgsymphony.org. Follow the orchestra on Facebook and Twitter @WMBGSymphony.
