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14 February 2025 | BeaufortLifestyle.comWhen Fred Devyatkin and his late wife, Katie, left New York City in 1982 as young but supremely talented violinists to play for the Savannah Symphony %u2014 only to see it go bankrupt within a decade %u2014 it might not have seemed like a great career move. But years later, Fred says he was in the right place at the right time. %u201cIt was fortuitous timing,%u201d he says. %u201cI started conducting what was then the Beaufort Chamber Orchestra and had the opportunity to build it from a small community group with about 15 members %u2014 and maybe 30 people in the audience %u2014 into the Beaufort Symphony Orchestra (BSO). It was in its infant stage but showed great potential.%u201d It was also a fast-track to the podium for a musician interested in moving from concertmaster (the principal first violinist) to conductor. %u201cThere are a few different routes to becoming a conductor,%u201d Fred explains. %u201cOne is the audition circuit, which is very competitive. Another is to be an assistant conductor, be mentored and occasionally substitute, and then eventually move into the conductor%u2019s role. The third is to build an orchestra and get people to follow you. That%u2019s what I got to do in Beaufort. I got the opportunity to grow with the orchestra. I learned how to conduct and got lots of %u2018podium time.%u2019%u201d Under Fred%u2019s baton, the BSO has become one of the most beloved small-town orchestras in the country. Its 45%u201355 professional and semiprofessional musicians present four concerts a season, including an autumn classical concert, a holiday concert, a spring classical concert, and a late spring pops concert. But don%u2019t confuse %u201cfast-track%u201d with %u201covernight success.%u201d Fred began studying violin at age six and boasts some serious chops, including admission to the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Erick Friedman, then freelancing in the New York metropolitan area while studying orchestral repertoire with New York Philharmonic concertmaster David Nadien. When he moved to Savannah, he continued his studies with William Preucil, then concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony. And after more than three decades at the podium, does he now prefer conducting or playing? Hmm, both. %u201cIt%u2019s like asking if I prefer hugs or kisses,%u201d Fred says.TEARING DOWN BARRIERS Anyone who attends a BSO performance quickly learns two things: The quality of the music is outstanding, and the conductor is as far from a stereotypical esoteric artiste as a piccolo is from a timpani drum. During each concert, patrons enjoy Fred%u2019s educational and often amusing insights about the music and composers, delivered in his trademark enthusiastic style. His comments may sound off-the-cuff, but they%u2019re based on deep knowledge. %u201cI don%u2019t use notes.%u201d Fred says. %u201cI read several biographies of the composer and share the history of the piece. I talk to the audience like it%u2019s one person and we%u2019re having a chat. We relate on a human basis.%u201d %u201cThere%u2019s an invisible barrier when the conductor has his back to the audience. We discuss the music in a nonprogrammed way and dissolve that barrier. We%u2019re not teaching about music, we%u2019re teaching music.%u201dBeaufort Symphony OrchestraA Harmonious Journey with Maestro Fred Devyatkin%u2019s Batonstory by JEANNE REYNOLDSphotos courtesy of BEAUFORT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA