Mid-Columbia Symphony's concert season makes major changes

The Mid-Columbia Symphony is making two major changes for its 2013-14 concert season.

First, the concerts will return to Richland High's auditorium after spending the past few years at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.

And the orchestra will provide the live music for the Mid-Columbia Ballet's production of The Nutcracker -- a move that has ballet directors Debra and Joel Rogo overjoyed.

"This is the first time in 26 years that we'll have live music for our (Nutcracker) performances," Joel Rogo said. "And, the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers will provide the voices during the snow scene."

Rogo credits Maestro Nick Wallin and Mastersingers artistic director Justin Raffa for making the live music possible for the ballet.

"It was their vision that brought us all together for what I am sure will be the best Nutcracker ever," Rogo said. "What an event it will be."

Wallin is grateful to the convention center for its initial investment in providing a stage and other equipment when the symphony moved there in 2007.

"The convention center did the best they could to help us sound good, but in the end I'd really prefer to play in a facility that is designed for musical performance, and I believe our patrons feel the same," Wallin said.

Some symphony patrons liked the convention center but just as many didn't. There were complaints about bad acoustics while others enjoyed the more sophisticated ambiance of the convention center.

The symphony originally moved to the convention center because there were too many scheduling problems with the Richland School District for using the auditorium.

The convention center also offered the symphony a rental fee that was almost half the $3,000 the school district charged it.

"The convention center did increase our rent each year, and that kind of thing is normal," Wallin said. "But when we had to move one of our concerts to Richland High last January because there was a scheduling problem at Three Rivers, we realized just how important the clarity of the music is that we didn't have at the convention center."

The symphony now will be charged $2,000 to $3,000 per event depending on the concert.

"We realized that it's important to perform in a place designed for performing music," said Dick Pratt, president of the symphony board.

Wallin said they also expect to have better communication with the school district this time because the lead clarinetist for the symphony, Jason Rose, also is the music and band director for Richland High School.

"Jason will be able to help us schedule our concerts in a more productive way," Wallin said.

-- Dori O'Neal: 582-1514; doneal@tricityherald.com; Twitter: @dorioneal

This story was originally published July 27, 2013 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Mid-Columbia Symphony's concert season makes major changes ."