Northshore Community Orchestra to make holiday music | St. Tammany community news

The 37-year-old Northshore Community Orchestra, previously known as the Slidell Youth & Community Orchestra, returns to Slidell Auditorium on Dec. 19 for its annual holiday concert.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for the one-hour Thursday night concert. The music begins at 6 p.m., and seating is available on a first-come, first-seated basis.

This is the only symphony orchestra in St. Tammany Parish with both youth and adult members. Most come from Slidell, but the group also draws members from other St. Tammany communities, the New Orleans area and south Mississippi.

Though its student members typically begin around late middle school- or junior high-age, orchestra members currently range from 12 years to the 80s (as in, their ninth decade). Additionally, some of the orchestra’s musicians are family members who play together — spouses, parents and children, and/or siblings.

The orchestra’s conductor since 2006 has been Susan Messina, a Slidell native who holds a master’s degree in music and has more than 30 years in music education. She has been a band director at several area schools and currently teaches private lessons on a wide variety of instruments.

Financial support for the orchestra comes from the membership themselves, as well as donations from local businesses and individuals.

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