GMAC Kicks Off 50th Concert Season Sunday

Observer Reports

The Anderson Symphony Orchestra will open its 50th concert season Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Rainey Fine Arts Center at Anderson University, promising an afternoon of “music of mythic proportions.” The milestone performance will feature Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 alongside two celestial movements from Gustav Holst’s The Planets—Saturn and Uranus—a program that evokes struggle, destiny, and the timeless rhythms of the cosmos.

The concert marks the beginning of a golden anniversary season for the orchestra and its parent organization, the Greater Anderson Musical Arts Consortium (GAMAC). Founded in 1980, GAMAC grew out of a community movement to establish a permanent symphonic presence in Anderson. Over the decades, it has nurtured both professional and student musicians through groups such as the GAMAC Chorale, the Chamber Orchestra, and the award-winning Pre-College strings programs.

As the organization celebrates five decades of performance, this season’s opener pays homage to its evolution from a small local ensemble into a regional institution known for ambitious programming and community engagement. Sunday’s concert continues that legacy, inviting audiences to reflect on GAMAC’s journey—and to look toward the next half-century of music in Anderson.