'Musical heartbeat': Tallahassee Symphony melds music, art into bicentennial book

Part of the fun of getting older is thumbing back through the memories you’ve made, the things you’ve done, and the ways you’ve changed over the years. Just like people, cities can have memories too.  Especially old cities — ones like Tallahassee, which will turn 200 in January of next year.

The 2024 Tallahassee Bicentennial promises 12 months of celebration — and lucky for us, much of our city’s 200-year-history will be amplified through music, dance, art, and the written word during the year.

Given that music is a vital part of any celebration, it seems only right that the 43-year-old Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra will be one of the first to say, “Happy 200th!” — even before the calendar flips. While their glorious bicentennial “Visual Concerto” will fill the Ruby Diamond stage on Jan. 20 and Jan. 21, the TSO has already stepped forward with a keepsake that every family will treasure.

A totally unique, 10x10 inch “coffee table book,” created especially by the Tallahassee Symphony and its art curators, will become available Nov.19 at its launch at Hearth and Soul, in local bookstores, and through the Symphony’s website and office.

Filled with brilliant paintings by some of Tallahassee’s most prominent artists, the easy-to-handle volume is anything but “stuffy.” Instead, it is a glossy, readable depiction of “the musical heartbeat of our city, from concert halls to outdoor evenings under the stars, to sporting events and civic parades…”

'A love letter to Tallahassee'

But how and why would the TSO, dealing in auditory magic, create a visual book?

Amanda Stringer, the CEO of the Tallahassee Symphony, and whose ideas inspired the publication tells us why. “This book, 'T is for Tallahassee, The ABCs of Our Musical City' is a love letter to Tallahassee…. It is a 'thank you' to everyone who contributes to our musical life.” And also to those who love to reminisce about the music they’ve heard and now see it represented by Tallahassee painters.

But the concept of using the “ABCs” as a device for telling the story of Tallahassee and its musical persona over the years was an idea that had been percolating for Stringer for 10 years. At a conference of the League of American Orchestras, Stringer had spied a similar book put out by the Paducah Symphony.

“I held onto that thought all these years,” she says, and adds that the book had also “served as a fundraiser for the Paducah orchestra” — something Stringer hopes can be duplicated in Tallahassee.

The cover of "T is for Tallahassee," is Elizabeth Lampman Davis’ illustration called “Parade.” Brilliantly colored with an almost cartoon-like lightheartedness, the wrap-around depiction is of our city beneath the stars as a parade and band march by Kleman Plaza, the Capitol with its striped awnings, St. John’s Episcopal Church, and Cascades Park, each of which can all be identified as part of the city’s heritage.

An alphabet of art, history and music

But when it came to what was to go inside, which paintings would represent the 26 letters of the alphabet to describe Tallahassee’s long musical scene, Amanda Stringer was not alone. She says she was lucky to find that Amanda Karioth Thompson, who had recently shifted from her COCA job to heading her own arts consulting company, AKT Artful, was available.

Thompson would head the collaboration of artists, as well as interview several local music experts for what to include in the book.

Holiday dining: What Tallahassee restaurants are open on Thanksgiving? Book early for dine-in, takeout

Longineu Parsons, Avis Berry, Mark Hinson, Scotty Barnhart, Del Suggs, Kati Schardl, Michael Bakan are among those who contributed their appraisal of Tallahassee’s musical arc and helped select and direct the short historical texts which accompany each work of art. Journalist and former county commissioner, Mary Ann Lindley is the book’s editor.

Here are some examples from "T is for Tallahassee":

“A is for the Adderley Brothers,” with a painting by Dean Gioia. “Cannonball and Nat Adderley mastered the saxophone and trumpet while growing up in Tallahassee and played in FAMU’s Marching 100. They went on to become famous jazz stars, and played all over the world. We celebrate them today at Cascades Park Adderley Amphitheater.”

“O is for Organ,” with a mixed media work by Valerie Goodwin. “Tallahassee is home to several treasured organs. One very special organ is housed at St. John’s Episcopal church. Its nickname is “Jingle Bells” because the man who wrote the holiday carol was once its organist. Jingle Bells was built between 1837-38 and is still being played today.”

“J is for Jazz,” with a painting in oil and cold wax by Terri Corbett. “Known as “America’s Classical Music,” jazz thrives in Tallahassee with talent from Florida State and FAMU. Performers are improvising—making music on the spot—rather than reading notation from a printed page.”

Holiday art: LeMoyne Arts sparkles with Diamond Jubilee, new take on holiday show

Artists supporting music in the community

The art that accompanies each letter is as diverse as the city itself.

From the careful realism of FAMU professor Nan Liu, to Mary Proctor’s vernacular style, Mark Wallheiser’s photography, Eluster Richardson’s civil rights oils, Mary Sterner Lawson’s pen and ink sketch, Joe Roache’s realistic acrylic, and Dan Taylor’s swirling colors. Elizabeth George, Roopali Kambo, Billy Penn, Diane Dyal, Mary Liz Tippin-Moody, Debo Groover, Starlene DeBord, Rosemary Ferguson, Rita Barker, Anne Hempel, Gerald Grow, and Nathan Archer have each brought a variety of media and their own unique perspective to the musical touchstones of Tallahassee. 

Amanda Stringer hopes that "T is for Tallahassee" will not only be a visual delight to commemorate the city’s bicentennial or a colorful surprise beneath a holiday tree, but also a kind of musical primer for young people to see how the arts have affected the city’s history.

The volume will be sold at Hearth and Soul, Midtown Reader, and the Symphony Office, recently relocated to the Garden Center at 507 N. Calhoun Street, as well as at upcoming TSO concerts and citywide festivals. The price is $24.95. The sales will serve to support the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra’ children’s programming.

Marina Brown's dancing watercolor for "L" (Tallahassee Lassie) is included in the "T is for Tallahassee" book. She can be contacted at: mcdb100@comcast.net.

If you go

What: Book launch for Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra's "T is for Tallahassee"

When: noon-3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19

Where: Hearth & Soul, 1410 Market St.

Cost: Book is $24.95; event is free

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee Symphony melds music, art into bicentennial book