The closing of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra in 2003 brought to an end  the presentation of a regular classical music series in south Palm Beach County.

Little more than a year later, Marshall Turkin, a former Executive Director of major American orchestras, had the vision and perseverance to try to put together a group of interested community members with the hope of creating a new, financially stable musical group to help fill the gap left by the demise of the Florida Philharmonic. Marshall had served as Interim Executive Director for the Philharmonic in the early 90’s and in that position became friendly with Martin Coyne, who was beginning his service as Chairman of the Board of the orchestra.

Marshall began preliminary discussions with Jeff Kaye, the former Principal Trumpet for the Philharmonic, as to the availability of the fine musicians who had formerly performed with that orchestra. Assured that many of those players were still in the area, Turkin proceeded to invite Coyne to join in this venture and serve as the first Board President. Together they agreed upon a structure that would ensure that the new organization would be financially secure. They decided upon a Boca Raton base of operations, as it was the most successful among the many venues served by the Florida Philharmonic, both in financial support and audience participation. They used the name “Symphonia” to indicate that this would be a chamber size orchestra that would not demand the enormous financial burden of a full size orchestra.

In order to further stress the need for financial accountability and responsibility, Turkin and Coyne decided to start with a 5 concert series to be performed on Sunday afternoons. It would begin in an acoustically sound and relatively small venue; it would minimize administrative staff and expenses; and it would be revenue driven. That is, it would make realistic revenue projections and base its operations on those projections, rather than making grandiose plans and then hoping to raise the monies needed. They also were determined to only present to the community those events that the community asked for and were willing to financially support. Finally, they decided they would not begin operations, until they had enough money in the bank to support the first year of operations.

In order to get a sense of the community backing for this effort, Turkin and Coyne spent considerable time meeting with public and private leaders in the area and determined that there was a very strong desire to support the formation of a new orchestra. The encouragement of these people provided a strong impetus to move forward with this project.

The first task was to secure initial funding to underwrite this effort. Marshall Turkin, since his retirement to Florida, was producing and performing his Classic Jazz series at the Jewish Community Center in Boca Raton. Two of his biggest fans were Edith and Martin Stein, prominent Boca philanthropists, community activists and music lovers. Turkin and Coyne approached the Steins with their idea of forming the Symphonia to serve our local community. Without hesitation, they generously agreed to make a $50,000 Challenge Grant predicated on the Symphonia’s ability to raise an additional $50,000. Within 3 months, the challenge was met and the Boca Raton Symphonia had over $100,000 in the bank and with it the assurance that its inaugural season would be a financial success.

Edith and Martin B. Stein

It is safe to say that without the initial support of Edith and Martin Stein the formation of the Symphonia would have been greatly delayed. We are all indebted to the Steins for their vision and support in helping to bring classical music back to our community.

In July 2004 the Boca Symphonia was incorporated and soon thereafter it was granted 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status. A Board of Directors was formed and Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws were adopted. Marshall Turkin hired an internationally renowned group of guest conductors and artists to perform imaginative and appealing programs for the inaugural 2005/2006 season. FAU graciously hosted those concerts in the intimate and beautiful University Theatre. The dreams of a few became a reality for many.

The Symphonia’s first season was a financial and artistic success. Sold out halls were the rule. Critical acclaim was evident from all sources. And the season concluded without financial debt. The end of the season was capped by a glorious “Night in Vienna,” a free concert presented in Mizner Park underwritten by Madelyn Savarick and Henrietta Countess de Hoernle. An estimated 7,000 people attended setting an historic record for attendance at a cultural event in Boca Raton.

Under Madelyn’s generous leadership and supported by the Countess, the Michael and Madelyn Savarick Concert Series was extended to 4 free concerts for the 2006/2007 season. The public’s enthusiasm for the Savarick series will hopefully ensure its continuation for many years to come. The Stein Connoisseur Series again featured a stunning array or conductors and guest artists performing an eclectic program that the audience found most appealing. The Stein concerts were now being performed in the Roberts Theater at St. Andrews School in Boca Raton, a warm, technologically advanced and acoustically wonderful concert hall, which accommodated 150 more seats than FAU.

During the 2006/2007 season, the Symphonia will again be performing with the excellent Master Chorale of South Florida. Additionally, the Boca Symphonia will play an important role in the March 2007 inaugural Festival of the Arts at Mizner Park, which hopefully will become an annual event attracting music lovers from all over the world.

The Symphonia is particularly proud to be continuing its Young People’s Concerts and Outreach Program. With the cooperation and support of the Palm Beach County School District, the free Young People’s Concerts have allowed several thousand elementary and middle school children to experience the joy of music and its relationship to their regular school curricula. Through the Melba Silver Music Education Fund, the Symphonia has brought professional string instruction to young children at the Boys & Girls Club of Boca Raton, again at no cost to the students.

The Boca Symphonia is proud to be expanding its role in the community by bringing its music to a diverse cross section of our population through concerts, education and outreach. We will continue to strive to give the community what it wants within the constraints of fiscal responsibility. The Symphonia looks forward to being an integral part of the culture of this area and continuing to update this “history’” with more exciting events in the future.