Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra founder gets unique, 100th birthday treat

Frances Grimes is a legend of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, one of its founding members and a longtime violinist.

She turned 100 earlier this month. That is a big milestone in itself but the FSO was able to deliver on Aug. 20 a one-of-a-kind present for her birthday party: A quartet of the orchestra's musicians performed in the living room of her home on Skye Drive. It wasn’t just any composition: Bill Grimes, a retired jazz professor who is Frances Grimes' son and who lives in Louisiana, wrote the four-and-a-half-minute piece he titled “Legacy of Love.”

More: The Fayetteville Observer's 40 Under 40 Class of 2023: Meet Anna Meyer

How did it come to be? Read on.

What got the ball get rolling?

Jonathan Grimes, who is Bill Grimes’ son and Frances Grimes' grandson, came up with the idea. Jonathan is a musician, too, a drummer, and also director of the arts council in Baton Rouge.

Bill reached out to symphony director Anna Meyer.

“When Bill approached me with the idea, I was very excited and supportive of the idea,” Meyer says. “An opportunity to perform for our founder’s 100th birthday is really something that only happens once. We were very honored that they thought to include is in this celebration and to show Francis what her legacy is, and what her deduction and her commitment to music in Fayetteville has become.”

Meyer says the orchestra, which now numbers 70 contracted musicians, has grown much since it began in Frances Grimes' living room, and she praised Grimes for her and others' contribution to its development.

About the song ...

Bill Grimes is conservatory trained — for which he heartily thanks his mother and late, music-loving father. A bass player, he taught jazz for 35 years at Louisiana State University before retiring in 2018.

He did not retire from music however, and still writes compositions for various organizations; in May the Boston Pops featuring jazz trumpeter Byron Stripling performed his version of the classic, "Singin' the Blues (Til My Daddy Comes Home.)"

Of course “Legacy of Love” was a labor of well, love. It is a sweet melody.

“What I tried to do is make it tonal and melodic but not so simple and banal that the quartet would be uninterested,” he says.

Grimes chose a quartet composition because his mother played in one — first the violin, and then the viola — and it was something she immensely enjoyed.

So … how did it go?

On Sunday, Aug. 20, the quartet set up at the end of the living room of Frances Grimes’ Skye Drive home. About 35 people were in attendance, spread about the room, as the ensemble began to play.

Meghan Woolbright, the FSO marketing director, said: “It was an incredible experience. A lot of our patrons were actually in attendance at the event, which was really really special.”

Bill Grimes says his mother was “really thrilled.”

“Just delighted,” he says. “Somebody told her there was a surprise” but she did not know what it would be.

He said he was very pleased with the FSO quartet performance: “I was happy that in a couple of places their tempo was a different tempo than what I thought it should be. And when I heard their tempo I said, ‘Yeah, yeah, they’ve got a better handle on this than I do.’”

What’s next for the Fayetteville Symphony?

The FSO keeps a busy calendar. For the fall, the symphony has rolled out a new “On Tap” series designed to engage our community through music and beer. The performances are free, with the first one scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sept. 8 at Dirtbag Ales.

The orchestra also has a Spooktacular event timed to Halloween and scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 28, 2023 at Seabrook Auditorium at Fayetteville State University.

Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville Symphony legend turns 100; orchestra delivers a special gift