Connect Savannah
December 29, 2009
Bill DeYoung

PETER & PHIL

The arrival of jolly Irishman Peter Shannon as conductor and artistic director of the nearly–brand–new Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra gave the city’s classical music aficionados something to cheer about. Armed with infectious enthusiasm for his craft, a tireless work ethic and a hot–burning creative light, Shannon transformed Savannah’s sleepy classical scene into a vibrant musical force of nature.

From an all–in–Italian La Traviata and Verdi’s Requiem (with its partner–in–doubletime, the Savannah Philharmonic Chorus) to full–out classical masterworks including Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, the Philharmonic in 2009 was re–writing the guide book for orchestral performance, and turning the dissolved Savannah Orchestra (formerly Savannah Sinfonetta) into historical footnotes.

“I think the problem that the musicians had before was this standard repartee of “Savannah’s loaded, it’s got a lot of money, and history needs that symphony orchestra,’” Shannon told us. “Bollocks, as we say in Ireland. If you can’t prove your worth in so many different ways – especially in the financial climate we’re in at the moment – you really shouldn’t succeed.”