Growing up in Rye, New York, Tim O’Neill was not a huge fan of symphonic music. However, the art form struck a chord with him once he heard the Longmont Symphony Orchestra perform its annual Fourth of July concert in Thompson Park some 15 years ago.
“When I was growing up, my mom always used to tell me you can tell the quality of the city you’re living in by the symphony orchestra that they have,” O’Neill said in an interview.
It’s safe to say, O’Neill was impressed with what he heard and saw from the orchestra that Independence Day.
After O’Neill served on the Longmont Symphony Orchestra board of directors since 2019, his peers recently voted O’Neill to be board president. He started in the role on Monday.
“I was happy to do it,” O’Neill said. “I really believe in this organization.”
O’Neill has lived in Longmont since 2007 and previously attended law school at CU Boulder. He currently works as general counsel for the St. Vrain Valley School District.
Several of the Longmont Symphony Orchestra’s performances happen at the Vance Brand Civic Auditorium in Skyline High School, 600 E. Mountain View Ave., in Longmont.
O’Neill said the Longmont Symphony Orchestra is in a very good position. He credits Stevan Kukic, former board president, and Elliot Moore, current conductor and music director, and all of the organization’s musicians, for its continued success.
“I think that it’s a very exciting time for the Longmont Symphony to have (O’Neill) taking over the baton,” Moore said Friday. “We’re really on a roll right now, and (O’Neill) is a person that, I think, is really going to help us navigate well into the future to keep all of this momentum going.”
O’Neill said there is still room to expand the symphony’s outreach into other communities, especially those in the greater St. Vrain Valley.
“Folks in Erie and Frederick and Firestone …,” O’Neill said. “I think we can serve a broader community than just (Longmont) itself.”
The Longmont Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1966 and presented four concerts in its first full season. Today, it puts on numerous concerts each year, including seven performances at Vance Brand Civic Auditorium, two free Fourth of July concerts, a holiday performance, and two performances of The Nutcracker with Boulder Ballet, among others.
Although O’Neill did not grow up as a big fan of symphonic music, today, he plays numerous musical instruments, including piano and guitar.
“The symphony … it’s a great thing to have in a community,” O’Neill said. “You can get the community together to enjoy live music of any kind, really — I’m in favor of that.”
