Orchestra to celebrate 50th anniversary, holiday concert
Carl Dahlberg playing in the Bonners Ferry Community Orchestra in 2017.
(Courtesy Photo)
(left) Glenda Novinger, current director of the Bonners Ferry Community Orchestra visits with Sabira Van Adel (previously Sabira Jackson), who founded the orchestra and was its first director. Sabira visited Bonners Ferry this August from the Holy Myrrhbearers' Monastery in Otego, NY.
The Bonners Ferry Community Orchestra, directed by Glenda Novinger, will perform a free holiday concert on Sunday, Dec. 10, at 3 p.m. in Becker Auditorium at the Bonners Ferry High School. The concert, “A Christmas Jubilee! Celebrating 50 Years Together,” will feature music of the season – arrangements of traditional carols and popular Christmas melodies.
This year’s holiday concert is especially exciting because it has been exactly 50 years since the Bonners Ferry Community Orchestra was initially founded in the fall of 1973. The orchestra welcomes a wide range of musicians from areas surrounding Bonners Ferry — from school-age to retired — and from beginners to professionals. In addition to the musical entertainment, the December 10, concert provides a chance to celebrate and recognize the vision of our community members who founded this unique organization so many years ago.
Over the summer and fall, to prepare for the celebration, several founding members of the orchestra helped flesh out the organization’s history. Sabira Van Adel, formerly Sabira Jackson, founded the orchestra in 1973 and conducted it for around 12 years, visited from New York in August and shared her stories in an interview. Longtime Bonners Ferry resident Carl Dahlberg, also shared his memories. Another longtime Bonners Ferry resident, Bob Saboe, continues to be a vital part of the trombone section and is the only original member still playing in the orchestra.
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