Photo: JHBG
Feb. 1, 2018 By Christian Murray
The Jackson Heights Orchestra, which formed in 2012, is performing Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” this Saturday.
The event will take place Feb. 3 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church located at 33-50 82nd St. at 4:00 p.m.
The orchestra will be led by Maestro Patricia Glunt, a Jackson Heights resident who founded the JHO. The orchestra has about 35 volunteer members, most of whom live in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, Glunt said.
The JHO typically plays four concerts a year, with three taking place at the church—in December, March and May—and another at Travers Park over the July 4th weekend. The orchestra also plays other concerts on an ad hoc basis such as the one this Saturday.
The audiences typically average between 175 to 200 at the church, Glunt said. However, at Travers Park, more than 300 people turn out.
The orchestra started small, originally operating out of United Methodist Church on 81st Street and 35th Avenue. However, after three years it outgrew the space and moved to St Mark’s.
Glunt noted that Jackson Heights has a flourishing cultural community, which has helped its success.
Nevertheless, she said, it can be tough running a volunteer group.
“With any volunteer organization you deal with a lot of factors– such as job conflicts and people moving away—and it can be a struggle,” Glunt said. Fortunately, she added, most people who joined have stayed. The orchestra practices on a weekly basis.
Tickets for Saturday’s event are $20 for adults and $10 for seniors/children and students. Tickets can be bought at the door or in advance online at jhbg.org or at Table Wine, 79-14 37th Ave. and Espresso77 at 35-37 37th St.
One Comment
Very proud of my old neighborhood and happy to see a woman with the baton! I lived across the street from Congregation Tifereth Israel on 88th & 32nd so St. Marks was walking distance for me. Too bad the orchestra wasn’t around when I was. Break a fiddle!
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