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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nMark Thielen has retired as the orchestra\u2019s conductor and music director, roles he had held since 2001, LSO Executive Director Ashley Miller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The orchestra will employ guest conductors for the four concerts in its Anne MacGregor Jenkins Masterworks Memorial Series, beginning with a recital Oct. 11 in Branscomb Auditorium at Florida Southern College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe LSO wouldn’t be who we are today without Mark’s contributions,\u201d Miller said. \u201cEven just in the last 10 years, the growth from being a community volunteer orchestra to becoming a professional orchestra, the way that Mark was able to use his expertise to help through that transition and to continue to make sure that our musicians knew that they are part of a family with us, it was a really important thing that Mark was able to contribute to our organization, and I think that that’s reflective of the community that we live in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked about the circumstances of Thielen\u2019s departure, Miller said she could not publicly discuss personnel matters. Thielen did not respond to a pair of voicemails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thielen, 70, began teaching in Polk County schools in 1976, concentrating on stringed instruments, according to previous reporting. He helped found the orchestra program at Harrison School for the Arts in Lakeland, where he taught for about three decades before retiring in 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thielen taught part time after that at All Saints Academy in Winter Haven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2001, Thielen was appointed as conductor and music director of what was then called the Imperial Symphony Orchestra. Tall and bearded, he provided an authoritative presence at concerts, wearing a tuxedo as he waved his baton to the musicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thielen regularly addressed the audience at recitals, introducing selections with an avuncular manner in his warm and booming voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe definitely made some great contributions to the orchestra that will be hopefully felt through the next 60 years,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The nonprofit organization, which adopted the name Lakeland Symphony Orchestra in 2021, will open a search for an interim leader in spring 2026, Miller said. The orchestra has 58 musicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slate of guest conductors<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Robert Moody will serve as guest conductor for the Oct. 11 concert, featuring performances of Barber\u2019s \u201cAdagio for Strings\u201d and Mahler\u2019s Symphony No. 1. Moody, music director of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, has appeared as a guest conductor the past three years and is the LSO\u2019s principal opera conductor, Miller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rob Lambert, a music teacher at Harrison School for the Arts, will be guest conductor for Toast to the Holidays concerts Dec. 20 and 21 in Branscomb Auditorium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jason Aylward, a music professor at Southeastern University and the LSO\u2019s principal trumpet player, will serve as guest conductor for a March 7 concert including Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u201cCapriccio Italien\u201d and Rimsky-Korsakov\u2019s \u201cCapriccio Espagnol.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The LSO\u2019s final orchestral performance of the series on April 4 will present selections from such Broadway musicals as \u201cWicked\u201d and \u201cThe Phantom of the Opera.\u201d A touring company of vocalists will supply its own conductor, Miller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The orchestra arose in 1965, when Florida Southern College professor Ken Anderson and Lakeland businessman Jay Erwin organized an ensemble of local musicians, with Erwin handling duties as conductor. The group adopted the name Imperial Symphony Orchestra in 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier in 2025, Miller learned that the LSO had been ranked below the scoring threshold for applicants receiving their full requested grants from Florida\u2019s Division of Arts and Culture. Only four arts organizations from Polk County were ranked high enough for full funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Miller said that the LSO crafted its current budget without the expectation of any state funding, following Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 veto of all arts grants in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are so fortunate to be in a strong financial position, and that is a direct result of the support of individuals and organizations in our community,\u201d Miller said. \u201cWe are definitely an organization that is community driven and community supported, and especially, with all of the conversations and volatility that’s going on with funding outside of that, it’s really our organization’s goal to help the community understand how important arts are for each of us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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