wcw NOVEMBER 2023

She’s been with the Venice
Symphony (VS) for seven
years now. Troy Quinn, the
Symphony’s Music Director/
Conductor, is in his fifth
season. The Symphony itself
is marking its 50th in 2024.
That all adds up to a lot of
stability. And that’s important in the competitive
field of arts entertainment.
That stability combined with business
and creative smarts is why their website
says, “Last season almost every concert sold
out and seating for certain concerts is already
becoming limited so don’t wait to buy
your tickets.”
The Venice Symphony season is underway
and they’re back performing at
the Venice Performing Arts Center with a
variety of concerts that run through April.
Christine came on board with VS in 2014
as sales and marketing director then went
to work elsewhere until the Symphony
asked her to come back. She then served as
their interim executive director and was appointed
CEO and President by their Board
of Directors in 2016. They obviously liked
what they saw in Christine.
Then VS began its search for a new permanent
music director. Christine was thus able
to be a part of the search for a new conductor
that chose Troy Quinn, something she calls
one of the highlights of her career at VS. The
Symphony then introduced a “Pre-Concert
Talk Series”, a free and informal discussion
with the Maestro and guest soloists.
Venice Symphony’s history reflects
steady change and growth. It was incorporated
in November, 1974, when 56 area
volunteer musicians joined together under
the leadership of Hartley Haines, the director
of music in the public schools. The
orchestra played three concerts in the Venice
High School auditorium with banks and
subscribers covering the costs, according to
their website.
New conductors would come on board
over the decades, all the while VS expanded
its programming. Concerts were held at
Church of the Nazarene in Venice for years.
In 2014, the Symphony moved its concerts
to the Venice Performing Arts Center at
Venice High School. “I was able to see the
last concert The Venice Symphony held
at the Church of the Nazarene before it
moved to the new performance space,”
Christine recalls.
With Christine as executive director, more
dynamic changes were to come. In May
2019, The Venice Symphony, in partnership
with Atlanta Braves Spring Training, presented
its first Patriotic Pops concert at Cool
Today Park, bringing in more than 3,000
people. She was the one to reach out to Cool
Park today noting, “They’re in our ‘backyard’”
and the event drew 5,000 attendees.
Christine “took a hard look at everything”
including things like the Symphony’s logo
and website and decided on a rebranding,
to name a few. Plus she has instituted a 10-
year plan. When she started, she explains,
it was just herself and one other person.
Now VS has 14 staffers. While moving to the
Venice Performing Arts Center was “key”
so was finding a new conductor. “We did an
international search and 175 applied.” She
and her search committee chose the seven
finalists and each was asked to conduct a
concert featuring music they selected for
The Venice Symphony’s 2017-18 season—
which was her idea.
While the Symphony had to switch to free
virtual concerts, (sponsored by Gulf Coast
Community Foundation), when COVID-19
forced the cancellation of the 2020-21
season, in 2021-22 the Symphony sold out
nearly every concert. “We did online concerts,
recorded chamber music and put it on
YouTube,” she explains, adding that post-
COVID, “Ticket sales went right back up.”
In the non-ticket area, Venice Symphony
holds an annual food drive for the South
County Food Pantry and a toiletries drive
for Backpack Angels. Under Christine’s
watch, VS’s many performing and education
partnerships and collaborations
include the Venice Art Center, Venice Institute
for Performing Arts, EdExploreSRQ,
Carnegie Hall Weill Music Institute, Venice
Main Street and and Wellen Park.
Venice Symphony also has an extensive
music education program offering a “Symphony
in the Schools” program that brings
symphonic music to third graders. Their
Summer Music Camp allows students in
grades K-12 to spend two weeks immersed in
playing music. As well, the Venice Symphony
Youth Orchestra offers young musicians in
7th to 12th grades quality instruction. Concert
Strings also offers younger students -
3rd to 8th grade - quality music training.
Prior to Venice Symphony, this CEO, who
is a native Iowan who later lived in western
Massachusetts, moved with her husband
Chad and their three children to Durawall,
New Zealand. “We were those crazy people
who decided to quit our jobs and construct
residential concrete walls. They have no AC
or central heating there. We started up the
company and ran it for four years.”
Back in the U.S. they landed in the world
of plentiful AC where she saw the Venice
Symphony opening. Christine had been
coming to Florida for years and has family
here so it was a very good fit. Still, even a
dynamic organization like the Venice Symphony
cannot always shake off misperceptions.
People still ask if the musicians are
volunteers. No, they’re highly paid professional
musicians from all over the country.
Of the 75 or so who perform with VS, many
have doctorates in music, quite a few teach
and almost all perform in other symphonies
and orchestras around the country.
Ticket sales make up a third of the VS
budget so to that end Christine has created
a development department to seek more
non-ticket funding and support.
Christine is clear-eyed and, to use the
over-used phrase, laser-focused. “No one
ever masters this position. There are always
challenges. You have to make sure you have
a strong team and that they’re taken care of
and enjoying themselves.”
She adds, “This is a pivotal year. We’ve
added four more concerts.” A quick look
at their website shows that their “Holiday
Spectacular” concerts have all sold out.
Looking ahead, Christine reports that
they’ll lengthen their season and add an
October concert next year.
Their programming reflects the changes
that orchestras have had to make to reach
a new music consumer who may not want
to buy season tickets, instead opting to buy
at the last minute. Or those who are more
drawn to pops music, show tunes, holiday
songs or thematic concerts like their “Hooray
for Hollywood” with Michael Feinstein
in concert on February 9, 2024. That concert
will also be a celebration of their 50th
anniversary.
The Symphony’s fundraiser “Venice
Nights” will transform the Venice Community
Center into a replica of its Italian namesake
on January 5. Guests will be able to
stroll the “piazza” they’re creating and see
statues and art come to life. Symphony musicians
will serenade guests and the Venice
Symphony Jazz Orchestra will also perform.
Christine’s board believes in “conservative
growth” which she defines as, “We’re
growing here, but we’re growing smart.”
It also sounds like a lot of fun.
STORY: Louise Bruderle
IMAGES: Evelyn England
A Tuna
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NOVEMBER 2023 WEST COAST WOMAN 17