Savannah Philharmonic is 'Phil'-ing the neighborhoods with music this fall

 Savannah Philharmonic aims to provide something for all members of our community.

MUSIC has the power to unite people. The hope of bringing Savannah’s community together is the motivation behind the Savannah Philharmonic’s upcoming Phil the Neighborhood series. I had the pleasure of speaking with Amy Williams, the Executive Director of Savannah Philharmonic, about this month’s upcoming events.

This year will be the first Phil the Neighborhood series. Williams has lived in Savannah for the past two years and hails it as a unique community. There have been talks for the past two years regarding doing different events with the Philharmonic in Savannah. Thus, Phil the Neighborhood was born.

The Phil the Neighborhood series will be held in September to lead up to the Philharmonic’s large concert that will take place in Forsyth Park on October 8. Each series event leading to the performance will contain four to five musicians, who will rehearse once before each event takes place.

Williams noted that music brings everyone together, and she finds it essential for our community to have events like these. Visitors can expect a sort of block party feel, and they can bring their chairs and have picnics. Also, Williams is expecting a hundred or so people to attend. Food trucks will be available at a series of events.

The Phil the Neighborhood series will take place for three weekends this month. On September 16-18, jazz will be featured, as the Philharmonic will collaborate with the Savannah Jazz Festival. Sept. 16 will be at the Isle of Hope Marina, the next day in Windsor Forest, and the next day at Kensington Park.

The second weekend will be pop, and the Savannah VOICE Festival will be performing with the Philharmonic at Hull Park.

For the third weekend, the orchestra will perform blues. Anthony “Big A” Sherrod, a blues guitarist from Clarksdale, Mississippi will be performing with the orchestra. They’ll be at the Tanger Outlets in Pooler on Sept. 30, Fairway Oaks on Oct. 1, and the Habersham YMCA on Oct. 2.

Regarding the Phil the Neighborhood series, Williams remarked, “This is music for the sake of music,” saying that the theme and core ethos of Philharmonic’s 2022-2023 season is “something for everyone.” There are many genres of music, and everyone has their own specific taste in music.

Philharmonic performs in local neighborhoods here in Savannah. In addition, they bring subscriptions back in a new and accessible way for dynamic programming. Savannah Philharmonic aims to provide something for all members of our community.

Williams looks forward to all the Phil the Neighborhood events and views them as an opportunity to meet more people and establish meaningful connections. For Williams, the Phil the Neighborhood events will be successful if everyone has fun.