Symphony's 40th season kicks off Oct. 3

Sep. 22—Les Roettges has spent many a year on the stage.

His illustrious musical career began when he earned a bachelor's degree from the New England Conservatory, a master's from the Juilliard School of Music and completed professional studies in Paris.

He performed as the principal flute for the Philharmonic Orchestra of Mexico City, Solisti New York and the Opera Ensemble of New York. Since 1986, Roettges has been the principal flutist with Jacksonville Symphony. But that's not all. During the summers, Roettges serves as the principal flute player for the Eastern Music Festival. He's a member of the six-time Emmy award-winning All-Star Orchestra. Roettges also regularly tours with the San Marco Chamber Music Society.

"I get around," he concedes with a laugh on a call from his Jacksonville home.

Closer to the Isles, he's been playing with the Coastal Symphony of Georgia for nearly a decade. Roettges began when Luis Haza was the conductor several years ago. He continues today under the direction of conductor Michelle Merrill.

"Half of us are transplants, traveling from Jacksonville or Savannah ... or even Atlanta," he explained.

With all of his experience, preparing for a new season has become fairly routine. But as he preps for this upcoming year with the Coastal Symphony of Georgia, Roettges admits it has an electric charge to it. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the symphony's music here, which laid the foundation for the premier musical organization that it is today.

Roettges is excited to be a part of the celebration and to share the special program Merrill has created.

"I've played for a long time, and there are many symphony programs that are pretty much standard. I kind of know all of those. But Michelle is adventurous. She pairs really standard classical pieces with modern things. For instance, in the first performance, we're playing Amy Beach, who is wonderful," he said.

Beach was the first American woman to pen a successful symphony, rising to prominence in the late 1800s. Her Symphony in E Minor "Gaelic," written in 1894, will be a part of the first concert on Oct. 3, kicking off this special season.

"It's very intelligent programming," he said.

Roettges will play an important role in both the beginning and the end of the season. He will perform the concerto, as part of the "Incredible Flutist," during opening night at Brunswick High School. He will do the same at the close, playing from Reinecke's Flute Concerto in D Major on May 8.

For conductor Merrill's part, she's thrilled, to kick off the season with Roettges' key performances.

"Les' concertos bookend the season which is really cool," she said. "We're starting off with a kind of Carnival atmosphere with the 'Carnival Overture' by Dvorak, then Les' concerto from the Ballet Suite from the Incredible Flute. Then, 'Symphony in E Minor, Gaelic' by Amy Beach."

After the opening show, the 40th anniversary season will continue with a second performance Nov. 7, featuring selections by Carlos Simon, Wagner and Beethoven. The concerts resume in the new year, on Feb. 6, with pieces by Benjamin Britten, Johan Hugosson, Arvo Part and 'Symphony No. 40' by Mozart.

"In February, we're actually returning to Wesley (United Methodist Church on St. Simons). We had such a great response from our concert we had there during COVID with our chamber orchestra," she said. "It's such a beautiful place with great acoustics in a more intimate setting. We had new patrons coming to the symphony just from that performance."

The hallmark 2022 to 2023 symphony season will close in May with selections by Reinecke, Shostakovich and Sarah Kirkland Snider's "Something for the Dark."

"That was written way before the pandemic, and it's about Detroit rising from the ashes. But it still feels so appropriate because we're coming out of a dark time," Merrill said.

They're planning to keep the music going beyond just the symphony's standard four concerts this year.

"It's much more than just our four core concerts. We are doing a Christmas concert with our brass section, like we did at Gascoigne Park during COVID. People really loved that, so we're doing it again," she said.

"We also have Sound Bites returning and a few salons. We have MLK events in the works. We have our Musical Mentor program continuing. There's so much going on and we're so excited to keep growing our footprint in the community."