Greene County News Report

FAIRBORN – The Fairborn Philarmonic Orchestra came to be after collaborative efforts between A.C. Strings and the Fairborn Civic Band. It will offer a performance on Saturday evening.

For 18 years, Kathy Johnston has organized and directed the A.C. (Abiding Christ) Strings in Fairborn. Comprised of string players from Beavercreek, Kettering and Dayton areas with beginning-to-advanced reading skills, and ages from children through adult, musicians have enjoyed rehearsing and performing together under the direction Johnston.

In recent years Johnston has been assisted by Dr. Phillipa Burgess, a local string and piano instructor and musicologist. Then, last year, through collaborative effort, Johnston, Burgess and Gary Johnson joined together in performance the A.C. Strings and Fairborn Civic Band, thus forming the Fairborn Philharmonic Orchestra. Since that initial joint effort, encore performances have been requested and delivered much to the delight of enthusiastic audiences.

This year’s A.C. Strings theme is “musicals” and their performance repertoire includes music from The Wizard of Oz as well as suites from Oklahoma and The Sound of Music. They will perform beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22. A.C. Strings will present a summer concert where they will once again be joined by the Fairborn Civic Band for what is to be an exciting performance of the Fairborn Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert will be held at Abiding Christ Lutheran Church, Dayton Yellow Springs Road, in Fairborn and is free and open to the public.