FROM THE CORNER OFFICE

Just a little over a year ago, Karen and I adopted the Lowcountry as our new home, after residencies in Massachusetts, Florida, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Delaware. We were looking forward to immersing ourselves in everything that our new community and state had to offer, and we were just getting started when things abruptly shut down in March. I have recently joked that I want an extended “honeymoon” at the HHSO, since I was barred from getting to know so many of you because of COVID-19. For those whom I met, please allow me another opportunity to put your face with your name when we next see each other. And for those whom I have yet to meet, please continue to consider me a “newbie” to Hilton Head Island.

The shutdown forced a suspension of in-person, live performances, but the HHSO staff and board never stopped.  Indeed, while some staff members opted to work remotely, some of us continued to come in to an officially closed office on a daily basis—distanced, cautious, and cognizant of the need to protect others’ safety—to keep the work of the HHSO going. The Board of Directors and standing committees maintained their meeting schedules, in either remote or hybrid form, and business continued.

Thanks to the generosity of our subscribers—who donated purchased tickets for the balance of the 2019-2020 season—and to donors who supported special efforts with additional gifts, the HHSO remains in a financially stable position. This has not come without forced changes. We said farewell to two dedicated and long-time staff members, Mary Ann Rebish and Sarah Bergin, whose positions were eliminated last summer as part of an effort to reduce costs and workforce. The great majority of our rostered musicians have not seen an HHSO paycheck since last May. A number of our subscribers and League members did not renew for the 2020-2021 season, because of the uncertainty surrounding our activities.

The artistic planning staff consisting of John Morris Russell, Mario Incorvaia, and me have devised plans A, B, and C (with some alternatives for a “D”) for the current season, based on communications with our performance venues, soloists, orchestra members, other performers, community partners, and patrons. We remain nimble to adjust as our situation evolves during this uniquely uncertain time. All that said, we are committed to providing joy-filled, live performances for you, employing our musicians, and fulfilling community education and engagement obligations.  Indeed, work is currently underway to put together a 2021-2022 season full of wonderfully memorable musical experiences.

Last year, the HHSO was fortunate to receive a fully forgiven Paycheck Protection Program loan (which allowed us to partially pay musicians for cancelled services) and, more recently, a significant CARES Act grant from the State of South Carolina. While we will pursue additional opportunities for pandemic-related public support, the private contributions from individuals, businesses, and foundations will be what primarily positions the HHSO for strong fiscal solvency as we emerge from the shutdown and return to more normal operations. We are so grateful to all those who have given, and to those who will continue to give to the HHSO.

This article is being written on Inauguration Day, a day that historically has been viewed as a day of hope. At the HHSO, we are full of hope for a speedy return to large-scale, full-audience, live performances of the greatest works from our musical canon. During these months of isolation, we have seen the real power that live music has in our lives. (Perhaps, it will be less taken for granted?) We have every reason to believe that our patrons will return to the HHSO with more passion and desire for what we offer—and we cannot wait to fulfill that desire and share great live music, once again.

—Alan Jordan, President and CEO

The pandemic stopped all of us in our tracks. Only a Herculean effort by our International Piano Competition (IPC) Committee and staff got us through this internationally acclaimed competition in March and since then, very little. All of us at the HHSO are missing the opportunity to perform beautiful orchestral music for our patrons, sponsors, and community as a whole at our home at First Presbyterian Church.

We have been able to use our SoundWaves recording space for Monday evening live stream performances of everything from Classical to Jazz and Contemporary music by local performers.

This pandemic has created a very difficult environment for all music industry performers; we’re trying to do what we can to keep our vibrant local music scene, regardless of genre, alive in the Lowcountry.  You can help us by tuning in to our Monday night performances and making a tax deductible donation to the HHSO. For more information, please visit our website, www.hhso.org. We appreciate your support.

We were able to perform our Holiday Pops Concert, under the direction of our esteemed Maestro, John Morris Russell, albeit smaller and outdoors over Thanksgiving weekend. The crowds were small but enthusiastic and reminded all of us of how important music is to our overall health and well-being. We’ve also live streamed our first two Orchestral Series: “Serenade” featuring both Mozart and Dvořák, conducted by John Morris Russell, and with guest conductor Jaime Laredo, featuring music by Bach, Handel, and Mozart! Maestro Russell will be back in February for two additional live streamed concerts.

We’re blessed to call this part of our great Country home. Good weather, beautiful open spaces and wonderful distractions from the world around us. I believe the HHSO is a part of those “wonderful distractions;” a world class Symphony woven into the fabric of our community. We’ve certainly had our trials over the past twelve months; not all COVID-related. I believe that part of the healing process will be the gradual return of normalcy in our lives. Our part of that return to normalcy will be offering the beauty of Orchestral Classical music, hopefully, in person at our beautiful home, First Presbyterian Church. If not, then we’ll be ready to live stream into your homes from SoundWaves.

I hope you had a happy and healthy Holiday Season. For many, last year is sooner forgotten; I can understand that feeling. Here’s to bluer skies and the return of live classical music to our Lowcountry. From all of us at the HHSO, thank you for your support. We look forward to making beautiful music for you in 2021.

—Bob Cherichella, Chair, Board of Directors

Seeking a tangible means to provide a meaningful musical experience for our community, by the first of May and through generous fundraising providing the addition of new audio-video equipment, we transformed our intimate cabaret and chamber music venue into a veritable streaming studio allowing us to introduce SoundWaves Streaming Live!, a new virtual concert series. We expected to stream one or two concerts per month to help get through the summer!

Well, now more than 30 Monday nights of streamed concerts and tens of thousands of Facebook, YouTube, and Vimeo views later, we hold a remarkable body of work representing a variety of jazz, classical, gospel, tango, country, pop, blues, bossa nova and samba, Broadway, and the Great American Song Book. If you missed any of these concerts, most remain available for viewing on our YouTube channel.

It is with immeasurable gratitude to our production team: Carlton Pitts, Brad Behr, Bill Gwynne, and Joe Chappell—collectively the heart and soul of SoundWaves Streaming Live!—that this concert run even became possible.

So, what’s in store for 2021? While we navigate the vaccination phase of Covid-19, we virtually reintroduce the Orchestra Subscription Series using the equipment obtained last Spring. We continue our SoundWaves Streaming Live! series, and we look forward to the return of our monthly live-audience cabaret, jazz, and chamber music series. Perhaps most exciting is a new Gullah concert series to launch later this year for which staff has received funding from the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, and is seeking National Endowment of the Arts funding.

Stay tuned! There’s so much great music ahead.

—Mario Incorvaia, HHSO Chief Operating Officer

FROM THE LEAGUE OF THE HHSO

This has been a year of many adjustments in our lives in order to stay safe and healthy, which has meant not gathering together as we would normally. For the League that has meant postponing our Spring Luncheon and Fashion Show as well as our Musicales and Spring Fling. Our Kitchens of Note Tour scheduled for the fall is on pause as well. As soon as we deem it safe, we will reschedule our activities and be off and running again! We miss gathering with our League friends!

In the meantime, our Fundraising VP, Carol Gyllenhoff, is researching ideas for future fundraisers. If you know of or have been involved in a fundraiser you think the League should consider, please contact Carol.

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the Sabika Jewelry fundraiser hosted by Heather Cherichella at SoundWaves and the Virtual Holiday Concert put together by HHSO’s Mario Incorvaia. We are grateful to both Heather and Mario for giving us two fundraising opportunities to help towards our annual pledge to the Orchestra.

We will be putting out a League Newsletter in the spring with more information, but I do want to acknowledge two significant losses the League suffered this year. Our League Board member, Kathie Miller, passed away in late December. Kathie was a lovely woman who was a dedicated and hardworking League volunteer and friend, and we feel her loss deeply. 

Also, this year we mourn the loss of Ellen Taylor. Without Ellen there would be no League. Ellen was our founder and worked hard to be sure we were not only an organization to support and fundraise for the HHSO, but an organization of “friend-raising” as well. We will be honoring Ellen and her legacy and will share details in our spring newsletter.

I hope you will consider nominating the HHSO for the Collins Group’s Home Sale for Charity described elsewhere in this newsletter; it’s another way we can support the HHSO.

Please contact me with questions, comments, ideas.

—Linda DeLuca, President, HHSO League
Ldeluca89@gmail.com

Ellen and her late husband Charles were committed to the orchestra and dedicated both time and treasure to insure its success. Charles served on the HHSO’s Board of Directors for more than 11 years including as its chairman from 1993-1996 and from 1998-2005. Charles and Ellen were inseparable. She supported him as he spearheaded the orchestra’s growth and he encouraged her in her efforts to promote awareness of the orchestra and raise funds for outreach and programming.

In 1998 Ellen, along with a small group of like-minded women, established The League of The HHSO. The organization’s mission then, as it remains today, was to raise friends and funds to benefit the orchestra. Ellen served as the League’s first president. In the early years, all of the friend raising and fund raising events took place in the Taylor’s home with Ellen happily presiding as hostess. Ellen was blessed with the gift of hospitality. She loved organizing events. She relished the planning, purchasing, cooking, arranging and decorating. But she was happiest when, wearing one of her signature hostess aprons, she opened the door and welcomed her guests into her home.

Ellen was a magnet, attracting new members to the League and substantial funds to the coffers. At the orchestra’s final concert of the 1999 season, Ellen stood on the stage and proudly presented the League’s first annual gift to the HHSO—a check in the amount of $20,000.

Often described as doll-like, Ellen was small, petite, and beautiful. Her outward appearance, however, belied her inward strength and determination. When she had a dream or believed strongly in something, she was undaunted and could move mountains to achieve the results she wanted. She was an inspiration to all who knew her. Her leadership encouraged others to lead. Her generosity motivated others to give. Her ability to move mountains inspired others to think big and fight for their dreams.

Ellen Taylor was a remarkable woman and a treasured friend. She left an indelible mark on her family and friends, her church, the organizations she supported, and the entire Hilton Head Island community she loved and called home. Though she is no longer with us, her many accomplishments will long be remembered and celebrated. And her indomitable spirit will live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved her.

—Mary Princing,
HHSO Board Member

The HHSO affirms that all races are equal. We intentionally and systematically support HHSO policies and practices in our organization that promote opportunities for full advancement of African-Americans and other marginalized groups that have been denied equal access and opportunity. Our local situation gives good historical example of the possibility for transformative change. That example is Mitchelville, one of our Lowcountry’s treasures. It was a bold and brave experiment of 1861, before the Emancipation Proclamation, in which formerly enslaved people were granted land and provisions to build homes and to establish a working town that was self-governing. The HHSO recognizes that self-governance and mastery depend on equal opportunity.

So, we seize the current adverse racial situation as our opportunity to become a positive change agent that will actively pursue diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in all of our policies, programs, staff, committees, and Board.

The HHSO recognizes that racial inequity is systemic throughout our society. The HHSO therefore will examine its operations to address any racial inequality in our organization. We will work to eradicate any such adverse influence and to ensure that racial equality is integral to our mission and to implementation of our administrative and programming activities. We commit to all processes that will help us achieve our racial equity goal. We are committed to a racially inclusive approach in all that we do because we respect and value diverse racial heritages and know that hearing diverse voices will enrich what we have to offer.

Programs and Musicians: We shall schedule more performances of orchestral music by composers of color. We will be conscientious in recruitment, hiring, and advancement of musicians of color for all standard programs and competitions.

Staff:We will be deliberate in our effort to attract racially diverse staff in our recruitment and hiring activities and commit to providing equitable advancement opportunities for them.

Board of Directors:The HHSO Board pledges to seek increased representation of racially diverse directors and actively encourage opportunity for their Board leadership.

We respect diverse life experiences and work to ensure that all voices are heard and valued, and commit to creating a more comprehensive action plan that addresses diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for all marginalized groups.

Adopted August 12, 2020