Conductor Gary Sheldon looks back on his time with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra

LANCASTER − Lancaster Festival Orchestra Conductor Gary Sheldon has long been a staple of the annual festival. He has been the conductor since 1988 and worked with it a short time before that.

This year marks his last year of conducting the orchestra. Sheldon is not retiring from music, however, as he will still continue as the principal conductor of the Miami City Ballet and other projects.

Sheldon said the time seemed right to leave the Lancaster Festival.

"I couldn't be more proud of the entire community," the Long Island native said. "What started with great energy some 40 years ago when the festival began has grown to be a community-wide love affair for the arts, local history and many, many talented people who have become involved. Not to mention a family of volunteers. sponsors and our terrific Cameo League and board of directors. It really is like our slogan - art, music, and community."

Sheldon attended Washington University in St. Louis and in the 1980s became the interim music director for the Columbus Symphony before being named principal guest conductor. He then became the Marin Symphony's musical director in California.

However, with Sheldon's work with the Columbus Symphony, he became familiar with Lancaster. That symphony worked with the Lancaster Festival until 1988 when it started its Picnic with the Pops series, which still runs.

Sheldon said the festival did not start with the many events it now has.

"It was only in succeeding years where we would add a major event, usually one at a time," he said. "ArtWalk was very important to us because all of the arts - performing arts, visual arts, literary arts - were important for us to present."

Sheldon said café concerts were also something he wanted to do where festival orchestra musicians play chamber music at various local spots.

"Then in 1990 we added the community orchestra," he said. "That was at the fountain downtown. I remember performing "Water Music" at the fountain. The "Water Music" from Handel. It was a great opportunity for anyone in the community like students, seniors, amateurs, you name it. Sit down side by side with members of our Lancaster Festival Orchestra. That's still a wonderful event today."

Sheldon said slowly adding events instead of all at once has led to the stability of the festival. But he said the most important part of the festival's success has been the people involved in it.

Sheldon also spoke of some of the national acts he's worked with over the years. He said it's hard to pick just one favorite, though.

"Arturo Sandoval, a Cuban trumpeter, was an unbelievable performer," Sheldon said. "But I have to go all the way back to the beginning having Christopher Reeve at the first performance. He recited words of Carl Sagan, Einstein and Isaac Asimov. We put together a script he that he read to the music from 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' and 'Star Wars.'"

"That was an extra special performance, as was Ben Vereen's performance that first year. Because both men saw something that we were just beginning to see, that Lancaster was a very special place to perform. This community supports and contributes to our festival like no other festival I've known."

Sheldon also mentioned Sheryl Crow, Judy Collins and the Beach Boys were also fun to work with.

While Sheldon is a classical music conductor and a ballet musical director, he said he has a wide taste in music.

"I'm a great lover of jazz," he said. "Jazz piano especially. But I'll go out to a (rock) concert by Tool, the Strokes or Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Smile. I love rock and even country."

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This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Conductor Gary Sheldon looks back on his time with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra