OUR MISSION
The mission of The Long Bay Symphony is to enhance the cultural and artistic environment of our region by providing the highest quality musical performances and programs which entertain and educate patrons of all ages.
Our vision is to play a leading role in the Grand Strand’s cultural growth in order to be recognized as a center of musical excellence and one of the best professional symphonies in the Southeast.
Our Story
The Long Bay Symphonic Society was founded in 1987 by Dr. Diana Swanner-Scroggins, a local music storeowner.
She determined the need for a local symphony orchestra after many customers, both music lovers and musicians, related their interests in such an organization.
The first auditions for the Long Bay Symphony produced a core of 36 musicians who performed together for the first time in April of 1988 in Wheelwright Auditorium on the campus of Coastal Carolina College.
Dr. Won-Mo Kim was engaged as the first Music Director/Conductor of the Long Bay Symphony and served in that post through the 1994-95 season.
After his seven-year tenure, the orchestra underwent an extensive conductor search, awarding Dr. Charles Jones Evans the position of Music Director/Conductor starting in the 1996-97 season. Evans has been the creative force behind the Symphony for the past 25 years, achieving a high standard of performing excellence and growing the organization’s education and artistic programs.
The dedicated members of the Long Bay Symphony Board of Directors and administrative staff continually work to secure the orchestra a strong administrative and financial base. Additionally, the Long Bay Symphony strives to provide the highest quality educational programs for both young people and adults.
Education initiatives include the Long Bay Youth Symphony, the Musicians in the Schools program, annual Young People’s Concerts, Master Classes, and Pre-Concert lectures. The Long Bay Symphony continually seeks to engage with the local community increasing awareness of the arts and garnering support for its programming.
The moniker “Long Bay” was chosen as the name of the symphony based on the geographical region it covers which is roughly a 60 mile coastal area of North and South Carolina, including Brunswick County in North Carolina and Horry and Georgetown counties in South Carolina.
Our Music
Want to hear our symphony in action? Periodically, we will “re-introduce” our past concerts for your listening pleasure.
Performances from our Oct. 27, 2019, concert, “Halloween Extravaganza”, featuring macabre masterpieces with symphonic classics inspired by the frightful and fantastical. Included are Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Camille Saent-Saëns’ Danse macabre, dramatic excerpts from the play Peer Gynt (including “Hall of the Mountain King” featuring actors from Atlantic Stage) by Edvard Grieg, Fantasy on “Faust” for Violin and Orchestra (featuring LBS Concertmaster William Terwilliger) by Pablo de Sarasate, Hector Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique, and more!
