Eastport Arts Center

The Passamaquoddy Bay Symphony Orchestra (PBSO) was founded in 2007 as a constituent member of the Eastport Arts Center. PBSO is a community of dedicated volunteer musicians who cherish the opportunity to play classical music. The mission of PBSO is fourfold: to bring symphonic music to the communities of Washington County, Maine, and neighboring New Brunswick, Canada; to provide an arena in which musicians may meet, practice and perform together; to provide a serious hard-working orchestra in which musicians can further develop their skills; and to premiere new works by Maine composers.

Since 2007, PBSO:

• Performed 84 concerts in venues in Washington County, Maine, and Charlotte County, New Brunswick.
• Featured 27 soloist performances.
• Commissioned and premiered 7 new works by composers from Maine and Norway.
• Played 124 works by 67 composers.
• Reached more than 3,500 children in 19 Music for Children performances.
• Provided outreach to underserved populations, such as school children and the elderly, through ensembles such as the Woodwind Quintet.
• Provided Performance Scholarships and Leadership Internships to 4 high school seniors.
• Provided an opportunity for more than 75 volunteer musicians to learn from Trond Saeverud and Gregory Biss and share their love of music with each other and the community.

Musicians

PBSO currently is comprised of approximately 40 musicians who come primarily from communities around Passamaquoddy Bay in Washington County, Maine and Charlotte County, New Brunswick. Musicians are of all ages and from all walks of life. PBSO welcomes new players!
For more information, please call June Gregory at (207) 213-9145.

Conductors

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Concert Schedule

Fall 2022 Concerts
The PBSO fall performance took place on December 4 at 2 pm at Sunrise Opportunities (formerly Calais Congregational Church) in Calais. The program included Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.1, “Winter Daydreams”, and “The Enchanted Isle,” a colorful suite by American composer Ernst Bacon. The suite, based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, begins with a shipwreck and ends with a marriage blessing.

Spring 2023 Concerts
The PBSO Spring Concert Series will take place on Friday, June 2, at 7:00 pm at Eastport Arts Center; Saturday, June 3, at 3:00 pm at Centre Street Congregational Church in Machias; and Sunday, June 4, at 3:00 pm at Sunrise Opportunities (former Calais Congregational Church) in Calais.  The program is titled Finale Fantastique and will feature the world premiere of a small overture composed by Trond’s father, Ketil Hvoslef, Mozart’s Concerto for Piano No.15, and Berlios’ Symphonie Fantastique.  Phillip Silver is the soloist for the Mozart piano concerto. 

Programs

Musician Highlights

The Fall 2019 Concert Series was dedicated to Doug and Dovie Gaither, without whom PBSO would not exist.  During the spring of 2007, Trond Saeverud was conducting the UM Farmington Symphony Orchestra, in which Doug sometimes played, and covering teaching responsibilities at UM Machias while Gene Nichols took a sabbatical.  One of the classes, called “Chamber Group”, was comprised of several students and local musicians, including Doug and Dovie Gaither.  Trond thought that we could create a symphony here in Washington County like the one in Farmington.  Doug agreed to it enthusiastically and he and Dovie set to work to make it happen.  Forty people came to the first meeting!  Trond suggested starting in September; however, the group said, “Why not now?” and so we did.  The first concert was on September 15^th.  Doug and Dovie did everything the first year.  They created programs, posters, ads, and press releases.  They organized the music library, communicated with musicians, and liaised with Eastport Arts Center and other venues.  Doug became the first board president and continues to this day as Emeritus.  

Doug, on his French horn, and Dovie, on her cello, have been with PBSO for 12 years, every concert, every season.  They have helped set up for rehearsals and concerts, hosted Trond and 3 to 4 musicians for concert weekends, put up posters, sold ads, and organized receptions.  Dovie initiated the “Young Artist Performance Award” and Doug designed and helped construct the music shell panels in the EAC that have greatly improved the acoustics for the orchestra.  

PBSO is forever grateful to this dynamic duo for the contributions they have made, and continue to make, to our organization. —Written by Trond Saeverud and Helen Swallow

Tim Pence, PBSO French horn player, is a composer and multi-instrumentalist. While his first instrument was French horn, his formal instrumental training was in classical guitar. Tim studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and placed first in the 1996 New England Classical Guitar Society Competition. He has written over 50 works and his music has been performed around the world, including Lyon, France, and Moscow, Russia. In 2009 the Chagall Performance Art Collaborative commissioned a “sound painting palate” which they used in performances throughout Boston and New York.

Big Rocks on Steep Hills, a composition Tim Pence, had its world premiere on February 17, 2019 at the Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston Texas. Trond Saeverud conducted the Galveston Symphony Orchestra (GSO) in the performance of the commissioned work, which was very well received by orchestra and audience. Tim transported the musicians through dreamlike and surreal soundscapes and gave detailed instructions on mood and character — including a section using double basses and tuba called “losing our minds”. Congratulations, Tim!

Support PBSO

Since 2007 PBSO has demonstrated not only the ability to enrich the lives of musicians and community members by performing beautiful music twice a year but also by presenting classical music in new and pervasive ways. PBSO is supported by donations from the community, ticket donations at the door, gifts from musicians in the orchestra and their families and friends, and by generous grants from foundations such as the Helen and Charles Ladd Charitable Corporation, Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust, the First Bank, the Davis Family Foundation, the Maine Arts Commission, and The Maine Community Foundation. PBSO gratefully accepts contributions of money, services, and equipment.

For more information about the orchestra and how you can help support PBSO, please contact us at: PBSO, P.O. Box 114, Eastport, Maine, 04631.

U.S.: June Gregory, (207) 213-9145 • june.gregory@gmail.com

Canada: Lee-Anne Frost, (506) 529-8278 • brleefrost@gmail.com

Board Members

PRESIDENT

June Gregory

TREASURER

Bobbi Ivan

SECRETARY

Lauren Simpson

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE

Nancy Asante

Bobbi Ivan

June Romeo

Anne Stanley

Helen Swallow

EMERITUS

Doug Gaither