Foothills Philharmonic offers free classical concerts with family-friendly flair
When asked about what it means to experience the Foothills Philharmonic Orchestra as an audience member, Riley Henderson offers an anecdote.
Henderson, Foothills’ president, board of directors, recalls the all-volunteer orchestra’s most recent free holiday concert at Greer’s Riverside Baptist Church.
“The holiday concerts are more packed than usual,” Henderson says, “and the performers on stage warming up started bringing extra chairs out in the sanctuary. Soon, the conductor and all of us, and even audience members were grabbing chairs!”
He adds: “It’s a nice family, and it’s a family atmosphere. We call it ‘classically casual.’”
Founded in 2000, the non-profit Foothills Philharmonic performs a full schedule of free concerts each season. The orchestra performs at Riverside Baptist and the Edward R. Driggers City of Greer Center for the Arts. Its members are a mix of professional and amateur performers who practice together two hours a week.
The only paid member of the orchestra is Artistic Director Kory Vrieze, who first conducted the FP in 2011.
Henderson, a 2020 Furman University graduate with a degree in music theory, is one of the orchestra’s members who has a career outside of music.
“There are not many opportunities to make money with that degree,” he offers. “So, I work in the automotive industry, so that music doesn’t have to be a full-time job. The FP is a space to collaborate with others. It’s a come-as-you-are space to make music.”
Learn more about Foothills Philharmonic at www.foothillsphilharmonic.org.
You can go
Woodwind Quintet Concert, March 16, 7-8:30 p.m., Edward R. Driggers City of Greer Center of the Arts.
Attendees are also invited to visit artists’ studios located at the center.
