West Hartford Proclaims Saturday, May 19th as Ron Reisner Day

Saturday evening at the West Hartford Town Auditorium, Town Councilman Leon Davidoff awarded outgoing West Hartford Symphony Orchestra (WHSO) President, Ron Reisner the Town Proclamation in front of a packed house. The audience was then treated to a Pops Concert where Ron’s final performance included a rousing drum solo as the orchestra played Sing Sing Sing (originally recorded and made famous by Benny Goodman in 1937).

Ron joined WHSO after meeting Music Director and orchestra founder, Richard Chiarappa, at Celebrate West Hartford in 2004. A few years later, Ron was asked to join the Board as Marketing Director and in 2010 became its President. Ron’s leadership, passion, and sense of community spirit led the orchestra to growth, financial stability and collaborations within the WH community, as well as neighboring towns.

West Hartford’s loss will be Charleston’s gain as Ron moves to South Carolina to marry Lisa Alvarez, a professional flautist he had a crush on since Band Camp when he was 16.

Incoming WHSO President, Tom Caraher is enthusiastic about the future of the Symphony. “Exploring new media, methods, and collaborations to reach our audience will be the key to the future of the Orchestra.” Over the past year, Tom has begun working with the Board on Vision 2020, which has challenged the Board to stretch beyond current capabilities to envision how WHSO can better serve the community.

Although the 2018/19 Season doesn’t kick off until October 28th with an Autumn concert dedicated to Russian Composers, don’t miss the opportunity to meet the musicians this June 9th and 10th at Celebrate West Hartford on the grounds of the West Hartford Town Hall, 50 South Main St, West Hartford, CT. We may just find a future musician or even WHSO President! Hope to see you there.