An Evening of Divertimentos & Dressage

Sally Frick

Contributing Author

I can neither look into the eye of a horse, nor listen to orchestral music without being inspired. There is something so beautiful, purposeful, consequential, and relevant about these two seemingly divergent passions. Bringing these two concepts together, live orchestra and classical free-style dressage, has been a mission of mine for many years. As a past member of the orchestra and the board, coupled with my fervor (ok, obsession) with horses, Divertimentos & Dressage was at first visualized, then designed, and ultimately performed in October of 2019.

Divertimentos & Dressage was an endeavor, wrought with many variables, undertaken in October of 2019 on behalf of both the Spartanburg Philharmonic and Brooke USA Foundation. For all of us who took a chance on presenting this performance, knowing it could fail due to circumstances beyond our control (live horses, live musicians, outdoor elements, etc.) we ultimately succeeded in presenting a memorable and mesmerizing performance. The music was excellent, the horses and their riders were spectacular, and we raised $35,000.

Enter Covid 19. Sadly, everything came to a // (a musical symbol for an abrupt stop), or to put it in horsey lingo, HALT. We all know that the loss of funding to these, and many other 501 c 3 organizations was devastating. It’s hard not to reflect on this devastation with anything but a sense of incredible loss and concern for the future. Yet, Spartanburg Philharmonic and Brooke USA Foundation both were amazingly resilient through the use of technology, and by appealing to unfailing support of those who really believe in the sustainability of these two organizations.

For most of us, it is our nature to not only want to return to a sense of normalcy, but to then expand on the experiences we cherish and want to see flourish once again. With that, we are planning a bigger and better Divertimentos & Dressage with more dressage riders and a larger orchestra. This will again be accompanied by a one-hour cocktail party from 6-7pm and then a beautiful one-hour performance of fantastic horses dancing to the music of our wonderful orchestra.

On behalf of the Spartanburg Philharmonic and Brooke USA Foundation, I cordially and enthusiastically invite you to attend!

To have a greater understanding of what you are supporting, Brooke USA Foundation improves the health, welfare and productivity of working horses, donkeys and mules and the people who depend on them for survival worldwide. This is accomplished by reducing poverty, increasing food security, providing access to water, and raising basic standards of living through improved equine health and welfare.

And, for over 90 years, the Spartanburg Philharmonic has been inspiring audiences with high-quality music performances, enriching our community with outreach programs, and educating a new generation of musicians and music lovers.

I hope to see you on October 21, 2021 for this exciting and important performance!