The spring of 1995 was a busy time for a small group of music lovers in the Tallahassee community. Since the previous October, countless hours had been devoted to planning and organizing a new guest artist concert series in conjunction with Columbia Artist Management, Inc. First envisioned by Waldie Anderson, conductor of the newly formed Big Bend Community Orchestra and a seasoned performer himself, this series was designed to complement the excellent musical offerings of the FSU School of Music and other Tallahassee-based organizations. The inaugural concert of the new “Community Concerts in Tallahassee” was held in Lee Hall Auditorium on April 30, 1995. Five more concerts followed in the 1995-96 season.

The following year it was decided to change the name to The Artist Series to reflect the world-class stature of the guest performers and to avoid confusion between “Community Concerts” and the Big Bend Community Orchestra, its sponsoring organization. Each year since its inception in 1995, The Artist Series has continued to present the highest caliber of internationally renowned classical musicians in concert. The wide variety of performers has included soloists, duos, vocal and instrumental chamber ensembles (everything from traditional piano trios, string quartets, and woodwind and brass quintets to a guitar trio and a cappella vocal groups), and larger ensembles including chamber orchestras. The more unusual offerings have included a flute/percussion duo and a Russian trio of traditional instruments.

In keeping with the philosophy that classical music should be made available to audiences of all ages, socio-economic levels, and geographic locations, Artist Series concerts have been held in several different venues in Tallahassee: Ruby Diamond Auditorium and Opperman Music Hall at FSU, Lee Hall Auditorium at FAMU, Trinity United Methodist Church, Faith Presbyterian Church and, East Hill Baptist Church.

The Calder Quartet, 2008                                                              The Parker Quartet, 2009
 

The Enso Quartet, 2010                                     The Mana Saxophone Quartet, 2011

In addition to formal concerts, The Artist Series sponsors an Artist in Residence program, which provides one-on-one interaction with one or more of the Series' scheduled artists in classrooms throughout the area. Students are treated to a special concert in their classroom and have an opportunity to get "up close and personal" with the artist, asking questions and, in effect, receiving a private music lesson. This past season our Artists in Residence included all members of the Parker Quartet, who provided four days of residence performances and activities in classrooms and auditoriums throughout Leon and Gadsden Counties.

A number of master classes have also been sponsored by The Artist Series. These classes, open to the public, have been held in the FSU School of Music and have been popular with university students as well as other music lovers in the community.

Young people are extremely important to The Artist Series; an important objective of the series is to educate and stimulate their interest in classical music, thereby helping to build concert audiences of the future.