Making of Pause Life, Play Music

WSRE is excited to present our viewers with a WSRE original production Pause Life, Play Music: A Symphony Season

This project has been a few years in the making, and I had the opportunity to sit down with WSRE Senior Producer/Director Mike Rowan and Pensacola Symphony Orchestra Music Director Peter Rubardt — the two men mainly responsible for what you will see on TV — for a little behind the scenes look at how this documentary came together.

While this was a first for Peter, Mike has actually been involved in numerous documentaries, although he comments, "It was interesting to follow the symphony for a year in making this film. This project differs in that it was not the typical journalistic approach of finding answers or solving a problem, it was an exploration into the life and inner-workings of a symphony and the rich cultural role that organization plays in a community."

This "docu-concert" as it has been called, evolved from a vague idea to a well thought out film with Peter and Mike calling on Marc Bauman, Supervising Producer for national PBS program "Live From Lincoln Center" as a consultant for the filming of the symphony's performance of Tchaikovsky's poem Francesca da Rimini. Peter states, "Working with Marc was a real eye-opener for all of us who have casually watched 'Live From Lincoln Center.' The technical skill and knowledge employed is truly inspiring, and this program [Pause Life, Play Music] benefitted immensely form Marc's involvement." While it was tough to condense dozens of hours of footage to an eventual one hour documentary, both men agree, they think viewers will especially enjoy the finale of the symphony's season — the performance by the players of Francesca da Rimini. "This was a project that forced all of us outside of the box and inspired us to a new level of achievement," explains Peter. "I hope viewers will come away with a greater love of music and an understanding that fundamentally music is about people: the people that play it, teach it and listen to it," says Peter.

This WSRE Original documentary is made possible by donations to our Local Program Fund.