The Fort Wayne Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestras series kicks off Sunday, Oct. 27, featuring a full orchestra of the finest high school musicians in the region, under the direction of Troy Webdell. 

The Junior Strings, with 28 members, is composed of intermediate music students. The Youth Symphony Orchestra, with 66 members, is made up of Fort Wayne high school students at an advanced level who have passed rigorous auditions. The groups are part of the Philharmonic’s long tradition of artistic training and mentorship.

According to Webdell, audiences that come to see the Youth Orchestras are not just parents and family.

“Mostly, but you’d be surprised,” he said. “There’s a lot of people that actually are not even connected to the Youth Orchestra that come to hear these performances, because the music has been interesting.”

Webdell gave Whatzup an exclusive peek into forthcoming concerts whose programs are still being put together.

The big surprise in the opening concert is an appearance by Opera Today!, a new group with an audacious plan to found a professional opera company in Fort Wayne. I spoke with their director Debra Lynn; we’ll get to that below.

Puccini & Friends 

4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27

PFW Auer Performance Hall

Webdell will lead the Junior Strings and Youth Symphony in music from Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) and his mentors Amilcare Ponchielli and Ottorino Respighi. Local soprano McKenzie Hare and baritone Matt Giallongo, director of vocal studies at Purdue University Fort Wayne’s School of Music, will sing arias from Puccini operas.

“I’m always looking for opportunities to collaborate and also help out up-and-coming organizations or musical artists and guest soloists,” Webdell said.

“I wanted to do a Puccini concert. It started off with symphonic Puccini, but I wanted to also include opera pieces. And it just seemed to be the natural thing to contact Debra because 2024 is the centenary of Puccini’s death. A lot of orchestras throughout the world are going to be doing Puccini.”

When I asked if this grand music would be too heavy for the youth, Webdell replied, “I think Puccini can speak to everyone. There are some of his most beautiful pieces that are not difficult, and there are some pieces that are difficult.

“But that’s the thing with this group. It’s an auditioned group, and the kids are hungry for difficult music and good music.”

Night of Lights

6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27
Grand Wayne Convention Center

On the evening of Fort Wayne’s HolidayFest with events across downtown, the Junior Strings and Youth Orchestra will play holiday favorites during this free performance.

Spring Concert

4 p.m. Sunday, March 9

PFW Auer Performance Hall

Webdell reports he’s working out specifics on a program with a theme that would coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Finale Concert

4 p.m. Sunday, May 11 

PFW Auer Performance Hall

“That one is our traditional concerto competition winners,” Webdell said. 

Student soloists will lead the orchestra in movements from famous classical concertos. But there’s more.

“My title for that concert is Bebop and Bagpipes,” Webdell said. “We have a bagpipe player. And then we’re going to be adding in another student that plays alto saxophone, and doing some Charlie Parker.” 

That will be music from a pair of albums of jazz standards that the great Parker recorded with an orchestra in 1950.

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to fwphil.org/events.

Debra Lynn and Opera Today!

Manchester University recently downsized their music program, eliminating the position of professor Debra Lynn, who had taught voice and choir there for many years.

But Lynn had a Plan B. 

The first part of her plan was continuing to conduct the Manchester Symphony Orchestra. The second part has made the Fort Wayne fine arts community take notice. 

Lynn has founded a fledgling professional company, Opera Today! Their debut was Sept. 21 at the theater at the downtown Allen County Public Library, with a one-act, newly composed piece called A House Divided, by Philip Seward. The piece featured two singers, Hare and tenor Seth Allen. Lynn conducted the orchestra of piano and four strings.

“I know that there’s a goal to make Fort Wayne a major music city,” Lynn said. “It’s not going to be one if we don’t have an opera company!”

Lynn’s point is that opera can be important not only to the culture but also to the economy of the city. 

We’ve already had a professional symphony orchestra and ballet company for the better part of a century, and that attracts people to the region, along with the rest of music and arts culture, “classical” or “pop.”

While Opera Today! already have one anonymous patron, “We need about $3 million a year, which is pretty big,” Lynn said.

Her goal is to stage full productions of grand opera with professional soloists flown in from the bigger capitals, even internationally, and to pay a chorus of pro singers who live here in Fort Wayne. She wants a full orchestra in the pit, paid union scale.

“If I can help provide four or five more playing opportunities to our Fort Wayne musicians (each season), I would love to help them supplement their income with Opera Today! work,” she said.

“We are right in the middle of a bunch of great conservatories that are putting out really terrific musicians and have great opera programs. There’s Michigan Ann Arbor, Cincinnati, University of Illinois, IU in Bloomington. We’re in the middle of this big wheel. But there’s not really a place in this region where people can settle and get some consistent (professional) work in their field.

“There’s Indianapolis and there’s Chicago (and Cincinnati), but there’s not really anything in between. There are some little opera companies that are doing a couple productions a year, but I want this to be a major opera company, and I want to do innovative things. We have some big goals in the future that I think, if we can get funding, will really draw a lot of attention to Fort Wayne.”

Check out the plans that Opera Today! have in store by going to their new website at opera-today.com. 

We’ll have more coverage in Whatzup as their story unfolds.