Gator Summer Orchestra to perform free show Thursday

A group of Gainesville’s amateur musicians will showcase its musical talents after practicing throughout the summer.

The Gator Summer Orchestra will perform a free hour-long concert at UF’s University Auditorium on Thursday starting at 7:30 p.m.

Ismael Sandoval, the music director, said the orchestra has about 50 members from UF, Santa Fe College and high schools in Gainesville and Ocala.

The show, he said, will include works such as the “Simple Symphony” by Benjamin Britten, the “Academic Festival Overture” by Johannes Brahms and Maurice Ravel’s orchestral version of “Pictures at an Exhibition” — originally composed by Modest Mussorgsky.

Nishad Vaidya, the concert master, said the orchestra is part of Creative B, a summer program funded by UF’s Office of the Provost.

He said musicians of all skill levels were welcomed to rehearsal twice a week, where they found the freedom to practice and have fun.

Classical music is less common on the radio, he said, even though it survived for more than 400 years as a genre with substance.

Vaidya said a lack of good music teachers, especially among elementary schools in the South, hurts the creativity of younger generations.

In turn, he and his volunteers are motivated to inspire students and guide them through the process of learning how to play music.

“If more people could appreciate that,” he said, “then I think that will be the answer.”

The Gator Summer Orchestra performs at the UF School of Music on July 27. The orchestra will be holding a free concert at the University Auditorium on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.