Ingrid Borst and her husband, David, have a combined 125 years of music experience. Ingrid has played the violin for 65 years, while David has played the bassoon for 60 years.


Now, the part-time residents of Melbourne Beach are using their experience to help make the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra’s inaugural season a success.

“It’s an excellent orchestra. I’m very pleased to play with them,” said Ingrid, who has been a member of the Erie Philharmonic and Johnstown Symphony in Pennsylvania and the Amherst Symphony in upstate New York.

David said he also enjoys performing with the Space Coast Symphony. “It is an opportunity to keep up my chops as a bassoon player.”

He was a member of the Buffalo Philharmonic and a bassoon professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

“I love playing on the orchestra,” said Eric Lee, a tuba player who is president of the orchestra board. “We’re playing challenging literature and music that musicians want to play.”

Lee and his wife, Colleen, a trombone player on the orchestra, each have been playing music for about 38 years.

Approaching the middle of its season, the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra has found that $10 symphony tickets are popular among local residents.

“We’re building our audience,” said Conductor and Music Director Aaron Collins, who founded the orchestra with the purpose of expanding the local fan base for symphony music, making tickets affordable and providing opportunities for younger musicians. “I really want people to come and get to know classical music. We’re on the right track to be a success.”

The symphony includes a roster of 95 musicians, with 75 to 88 of them performing at each concert. That includes 22 youth orchestra members, ages 15 to 23, playing alongside older Space Coast Symphony Orchestra musicians.  

“Aaron has gathered a very fine group of musicians,” Ingrid said.

In addition to full concerts, orchestra members have performed 14 free chamber concerts at a variety of venues this season. The times, dates and locations of upcoming chamber concerts are entered on www.spacecoastsymphony.org as they are confirmed.

To purchase tickets in advance online, download mail-in ticket order forms or for more information, visit www.spacecoastsymphony.com. Purchase advance tickets from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at Blue Sky Insurance Agency, 25 Stone St., Cocoa Village.