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The Gainesville Orchestra’s mission to entertain, enrich and educate a diverse and broad-based audience through the presentation of quality programs in traditional and contemporary repertoire is as pertinent today as it was in our first season, 40+ years ago. Music nourishes our souls, comforts our spirits and provides unique opportunities for us to come together.
Evans Haile, a Gainesville-based producer, conductor, and performer, has earned international recognition across theatre and music. A past executive director of New York’s York Theatre Company and recipient of major honors including the Drama Desk and Obie Awards, he also leads Opera North in New Hampshire and serves as artistic/music director of The Gainesville Orchestra. Evans has revitalized historic institutions such as the North Shore Music Theatre and the Cape Playhouse, and his global credits include premieres and tours throughout Europe, Russia, and Australia, as well as guest appearances with leading orchestras and opera companies. His work at Lincoln Center includes acclaimed productions and recordings of Villa-Lobos, Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, and Cole Porter. A frequent host and commentator, he has toured nationally, produced for NPR, co-founded the New Amsterdam Theater Company, and has twice been featured on CBS Sunday Morning. Evans is proud to have been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Stewart Kitts, a third-generation violinist and longtime leader in American orchestral music, has built a distinguished career spanning more than six decades on stage. A child prodigy who debuted with the Indianapolis Symphony at age six, he went on to study with renowned pedagogues including Ivan Galamian, James Buswell, Carol Cohen, and Aaron Krosnick, honing a discipline shaped early by daily lessons with his grandfather, master luthier and teacher Otto “Opa” Frey. By fourteen, he was the youngest member of the Jacksonville Symphony; by eighteen, he had appeared as soloist with the orchestra more than thirty times. Kitts later held major leadership roles with ensembles across the country, serving as associate concertmaster of The Florida Orchestra for 23 years and performing key positions with the Savannah Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, Brevard Symphony, Hollywood Philharmonic, and Punta Gorda Symphony. His versatility has also made him a sought-after concertmaster for touring productions and recording sessions, performing with artists from Sting and Mannheim Steamroller to The Alan Parsons Project. Since 2018, he has served as concertmaster of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Gainesville Orchestra and The Villages Philharmonic. A dedicated educator, Kitts maintains a thriving teaching studio in Gainesville, co-directs the Gainesville Suzuki Players, and leads the Celebration String Orchestra. He is the father of fourth-generation violinists Elizabeth Kitts McBryde and Natalie Kitts, continuing a family legacy of musical excellence.
