Update: Due to illness, the April 27 concert has been postponed. The new date for the concert at the Monett Performing Arts Center will be July 13 at 3 p.m.
For the past six weeks, musicians have been coming together in a small town in southwest Missouri — some from more than 100 miles away — to get ready for a big concert.
It’s unusual for a town of less than 10,000 to have a full orchestra — especially when the school system doesn’t have a string program. But Monett has a community orchestra with all of the traditional instruments, although director Carla Wootten said they can always use more strings.
Wootten said the Ozark Festival Orchestra began 45 years ago when Carolyn Belknap moved to Monett.
"She had five children of her own, and they all played violin, and she started giving lessons," said Wootten, "and she decided they needed some type of chamber group, so she made Chamber Group of the Ozarks and then the next year they decided to go into a full orchestra."
A call for string players was successful, and the Ozark Chamber Orchestra was born. In 1981, the group became the Ozark Festival Orchestra, gained nonprofit status and formed a board.
Forty-five years later, it’s still going strong, and Wootten said people come from all over to play.
"One of our percussionists, she comes from St. Robert. Our principal trumpet player comes from Lebanon," said Wootten. "We have people coming in from Arkansas. A lot come in from Springfield, some from Joplin. Eagle (Rock), Missouri; Seligman, Missouri, I mean, it's just all over."
Eighty-one-year-old Phyllis Garrett, a long time resident of Monett, has been with the Ozark Festival Orchestra since it started and is principal cellist.
"I had been playing in Joplin because there was no orchestra in Monett, and then when we started in 1980, it was a fun, you know, kind of strings," she said. "I've played under 14 conductors now, but these two years have been the best ever. We've grown in size and in our musicality. It's just amazing. We've had so much fun."
Garrett said she’s one of the few Monettans in the group – most come from outside of the town.
The best part of being in the Ozark Festival Orchestra, according to Garrett: "Oh, just playing music that I love, just still being able to play my cello. I love my instrument and love all the people that I play with."
The ages of the musicians vary greatly. The youngest is 17, and the oldest is Garrett at 81.
Rebecca Molt is one of the younger players. She recently moved to Joplin from Cleveland, Ohio and heard about the orchestra from a co-worker who plays in it.
"I had been looking for a community orchestra coming out of school to continue playing music," she said, "and it's been such a delight to play with this group and to be able to continue doing music at such a high level for our community."
The musicians, she said, care about one another.
On a recent Tuesday night in April, the group was practicing for the annual Marty Beckwith Memorial pops concert, which is set for Sunday, April 27, at 3 p.m. in Monett.
Wootten said they’re calling it JC Fisher with Marcus Collins and Friends. Fisher, Wootten’s little brother, and Collins are part of the Texas Tenors. But other vocalists will join them.
"In our orchestra, one of our cellists also is a fabulous baritone," said Wootten. "And then we have one of our, well our bass player, her sister moved back, and she is this fabulous soprano, so they're going to be singing also."
Fisher said he’s excited to share the stage with the Ozark Festival Orchestra.
"You know, I travel around and work with a lot of musicians, but some of the most talented musicians you'll ever aren't the ones that are in the huge stadiums making the big dollars with the big bands," he said. "They are people like Phyllis that have been playing for years and years and that donate their time and give back to a good cause and just natural musicians and do it for the heart of it."
He said this is one of the first concerts he’s been able to perform in for fun for a fundraiser and not to be a Texas Tenor but to simply be JC Fisher, Wootten’s younger brother.
Wootten said the money the concert brings in will be used to make the performance space safer for everyone.
"We have a lot of older people in our group, and there's some mobility issues, and, as you know, orchestras — we need to elevate them in the back, the brass, the woodwinds," she said. "If you've ever seen an orchestra, you always see there's different levels," she said. "We do not have platforming to do that. The school has a metal platform that they use at graduation outside, and we have set that out before, but it is not stable and sturdy."
She hopes to purchase risers that are wider, made for musicians and that are – most importantly — safe.
Wootten said the concert will feature a wide variety of music.
"It doesn't matter what you like, you're going to love this. You're going to hear "Somewhere" from West Side Story. You're going to hear Les Miz. You're going to hear "La donna e Mobile," she said. "You're going to hear "Nessun dorma." You're going to hear some John Denver. You're going to hear some Phantom of the Opera. You're going to hear "Danny Boy." I mean, it really, we have covered everything, I mean, every genre I think."
The Ozark Festival Orchestra presents four concerts a season, and they begin rehearsal six weeks before each one, according to Wootten.
The concert this Sunday at 3 at the Monett Performing Arts Center, 1 Sippy Drive, is the Ozark Festival Orchestra’s main fundraiser of the year. Tickets are $20 for anyone 12 and older. Kids 10 and under get in free. There are VIP tickets available for $50. They can be purchased online or at the box office on Sunday before the concert.
