An Evening to Remember: Celebrating 100 Years of the Melrose Symphony with our Community
Over 5,000 residents from Melrose and surrounding areas gathered on Morelli Baseball Field on Saturday, September 9th to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the nation’s oldest all-volunteer orchestra - our very own Melrose Symphony Orchestra.
The field was covered in a sea of blankets and lawn chairs spilling over into the adjacent football field; children danced and waved lightsabers as the orchestra played music from Star Wars; even the Mayor made his conducting debut, pausing only to take a selfie onstage with the orchestra.
The weather was perfect, just as Mayor Dolan promised, and the evening was capped off with a spectacular 20-minute fireworks display which left residents buzzing with excitement.
Conductor Yoichi Udagawa was awarded the key to the city, only the second non-Melrose resident in history, for his 20-year tenure as the orchestra’s music director. State Rep. Paul Brodeur presented the orchestra with a resolution from the House of Representatives to mark the anniversary season.
While the we can’t promise this event will ever be repeated, one thing is for certain: not only is the community lucky to have such a fantastic orchestra, the orchestra is equally as lucky to be a part of such a special community.
