Space Coast Symphony Orchestra Will Unleash Orchestral Firepower July 26 at Scott Center for the Performing Arts

Orchestral Firepower: Audience To Help With Sound Effects for 1812 Overture

BREVARD COUNTY • SUNTREE, FLORIDA — In the follow-up to Independence Day, the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra will present a concert of three booming works with a bit of help from the audience.

The SCSO will unleash its Orchestral Firepower at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, at the Scott Center for the Performing Arts at Holy Trinity Academy, 5625 Holy Trinity Drive in North Melbourne.

Tchaikovsky’s exhilarating 1812 Overture will be performed in its entirety. Commemorating Russia’s defense against Napoleon’s invasion, the piece is notable for its dramatic orchestration, simulating cannons and church bells in a powerful and celebratory sound.

Several audience members will take a role in the rousing finale of the work, providing the cannon fire by popping brown paper bags and ringing handbells when cued by the conductor.

Principal clarinetist Jennifer Royals will be spotlighted in R. Michael Daugherty’s Concerto for Clarinet and Strings, a work whose three movements are titled ‘Passion,’ ‘Frustration,’ and ‘Jubilation,’ respectively.

An audience favorite and founding member of the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra, Royals is a sought-after clinician who provides private clarinet instruction to middle and high school players in Indian River County. Both she and Daugherty are residents of Vero Beach. The concerto, written for the Royals, is one of Daugherty’s roughly 400 compositions in a catalog containing a wide variety of genres.

Orchestral Firepower concludes with the powerful Symphony No. 6 by Dmitri Shostakovich. Composed under the cultural constraints of the Soviet Union, the large work did not deliver the promised ‘symphony to the immortal image of Lenin.’ Instead, Shostakovich’s work better describes an illogical and contradictory world, in a juxtaposition of starkly contrasting moods.

Tickets for Orchestral Firepower are $35 in advance for adults, available through the orchestra website at SpaceCoastSymphony.org or at Marine Bank & Trust in Suntree. Tickets at the door are $40. Orchestral Firepower is free for those aged 18 and under or with a student ID. For more information, call 855-252-7276 or visit SpaceCoastSymphony.org.

Artistic Director and Conductor, Aaron T. Collins, explains a bit of what concertgoers can expect.

“We have three very different and equally exciting works on this concert,” said Collins. “We will showcase our principal clarinetist from Vero Beach, one of the many excellent musicians in the ranks of the SCSO. The orchestra will immerse itself in Shostakovich’s deeply felt sixth symphony. And of course – the audience will have a lot of fun helping the orchestra out with the 1812 overture.”

Concertgoers aged 18 and under or with a college ID are admitted free to every SCSO concert. For more information about the Space Coast Symphony’s 2025-26 Season, please visit SpaceCoastSymphony.org or call 855-252-7276.

ABOUT JENNIFER ROYALS

Jennifer Blahnik Royals, a native of Vero Beach and principal clarinetist for the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra, has been playing the clarinet for over 25 years. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree and a Master of Arts degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of Central Florida. While an undergraduate student, she was chosen for advanced clarinet studies in France.

Ms. Royals has played with various orchestras and ensembles including Treasure Coast Wind Ensemble, the Vero Beach Chamber Orchestra, the Sunshine Clarinet Quartet, Treasure Coast Opera, Central Florida Lyric Opera, Bulgaria’s Teatro Lirico D’ Europa, Orlando Light Opera, Lakeside Chamber Players, Brevard Symphony Orchestra, Haifa Symphony, Space Coast Pops Orchestra, and the Licorice Sticks Clarinet Orchestra. As a founding member of the Space Coast Symphony, she has been featured in several chamber concerts as well as in numerous solo performances with the orchestra.

In addition to her active concert schedule, Royals is a sought-after clinician who provides private clarinet instruction to middle and high school players in Indian River County. Her students routinely earn top seats in the Florida All-State Bands and Treasure Coast Four-County Honor Bands, as well as superior ratings at solo and ensemble festivals.

ABOUT THE SPACE COAST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The SCSO is a lively and passionate Central Florida orchestra comprised of professional musicians, music educators and mentored amateurs of exceptional ability.

The Orchestra was formed by Conductor and Artistic Director Aaron T. Collins with a two-fold mission: to provide mentoring and performance opportunities for Florida’s finest young musicians as well as to provide professional concerts at genuinely affordable prices. The ultimate goal of the organization is to help ensure the symphonic tradition for the enjoyment of future generations.

Aaron T. Collins is garnering recognition for his achievements. LEAD Brevard named the ambitious Collins one of their “4 under 40” Young Professionals, the youngest-ever recipient of the honor. Space Coast Business magazine listed him as one of Brevard’s “100 Most Admired Businesspeople.” Collins is a past recipient of the Richard A. Stark Award for cultural leadership from the Cultural Council of Indian River County.

Through his personal involvement with more than a dozen performing arts groups, pioneering reciprocal ad program and social media cross promotions, Collins has gained a reputation for generosity; championing other arts organizations throughout Central Florida for the cultural enrichment of the community.

School-aged children 18 years and under are admitted free of charge, as are college students with a valid ID. In keeping with their mission, the symphony provides a unique Symphony for Everyone ticketing program, a “pay-what-you-can” option designed to provide substantially discounted admission to any Space Coast Symphony concert.

Relying on a non-traditional orchestra model and a slim budget, the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra is one of only a handful of U.S. orchestras to perform year-round.

The nonprofit organization also maintains the Space Coast Symphony JAZZ Orchestra and the Space Coast Symphony Wind Orchestra, with several free performances each year.

More information about the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming concerts, ticket sales, venues, directions, and sponsorship opportunities is available at SpaceCoastSymphony.org by calling 855-252-7276.

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