Red Mountain Chamber Orchestra

About Us:
The Red Mountain Chamber Orchestra exists to educate and give pleasure to the public by performing a repertoire of classical music composed especially for chamber orchestra, music not otherwise heard in Birmingham. One of the few such orchestras in the Southeast, it was founded to provide a musical outlet for skilled players, conductors and soloists in the community. Numbering about 50, the players are drawn from all walks of life and include students from Ala School of Fine Arts, area colleges, a physics professor, an emergency room physician, a dentist and several research scientists at UAB as well as band directors, string teachers and the head of the Music Opportunity Program at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. Ranging in age from 16 to about 80, we are bound together by a passion that leads us to work diligently on concert materials for the sake of the music and for the joy of creating music together as an ensemble. Furthermore, most of us studied our instruments seriously in university music departments and at conservatories before seeking other sources of income.

We have had the privilege of working with superb conductors and soloists, all of whom have had illustrious careers in their field. Les Fillmer, music director of the orchestra for eight years, is now conductor for the Alabama Symphony Orchestra’s State of Alabama Ballet productions, David Itkin is music director of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Wes Kenney is associate director of the Virginia Symphony and Tom Hinds is music director for the MSO, to mention a few. Our soloists have included Henry Rubin, (original conductor of the orchestra) a solo violinist and teacher in Houston, Allison Lee, a concert pianist who played many times with the group, and Michael Kimber, a violist who played with the Kronos Quartet at one time. We were thrilled to have many of our conductors, soloists and instrumentalists return to Birmingham in 2000 to perform with the orchestra in a gala concert in celebration of our 20th anniversary.

Since we are made up of members of the community, we strive to be an integral part of our community as well. In order to reach a wider range of audiences, we move about each year, performing in different places. We have played for the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Linn Park, combined with the strings from Jacksonville State for a performance at Anniston High School, worked with the pianist Anthony Pattin of Montevallo for a concert at Palmer Auditorium and been joined by the choirs from Talladega College and Parker High School in a concert of music by black composers at 16th Street Baptist Church. We have also performed at the Hoover and Homewood Public Libraries, many area churches and at City Stages. For many years, the orchestra was based at the Unitarian Church, but we have recently been privileged to become an associate of Birmingham Southern College. We now have our rehearsals there and we perform each spring with the student winners of the Dorsey Whittington Concerto/Aria Competition as soloists. Each year we also present concerts of small ensemble works at the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. As a service to the community and to make our performances of live, classical music available to all, our musicians and staff are all volunteers; there is no admission charge for our concerts, although donations are much appreciated. We are grateful to the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Metropolitan Arts Council and our individual supporters for making it possible for us to share our love of music with the community.