Published: December 27, 2007 03:45 pm         

Co-founder of Terre Haute Symphony Pops Orchestra elected

Local musician Earle Melendy, co-founder and conductor of the Terre Haute Symphonic Pops Orchestra (The Sinfonietta), has been selected and elected to enter the Wabash Valley Musicians Hall of Fame.

Melendy began his academic career serving as director of orchestras and professor of violin at Shenandoah College and Conservatory, the University of Maine, and at Indiana State University, where he served for 36 years before becoming emeritus in 1993. During this time, he also was selected concert master of the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra for 16 years, a longer period than any concert master in this orchestra.

He prides himself on selecting recognizable concert music for the common listener, including everything from hoe-down to classical. A wide range of musical tastes are always satisfied at a Sinfonietta concert.

Attendees can applaud Melendy’s maestro efforts in a concert March 9.

The Sinfonietta has been a favorite with many local musical and business patrons for more than 10 years. This orchestra was fashioned after the famous Boston Pops, using the many talents of local musicians for the past 18 to 19 musical seasons. Its concerts play to a loyal and enthusiastic audience.

The March 9 concert, in the Scottish Rite Cathedral Auditorium at Eighth and Ohio streets, will spotlight “Hollywood’s Musical Masters,” with popular selections of the 1930s and 1940s.