Laura Theofilis July 1, 1965  –  January 29, 2021 The COSMIC family is immensely saddened by the passing of a cherished member, Laura Theofilis. Laura co-founded COSMIC in 1995 to bring classical music to her beloved community. She became Vice President in 1996 and served as President from 1998 until 2010 with her father Jeff Keates as Treasurer and mother Lynn as Secretary. Under her leadership and vision, the Chamber Orchestra of Southern Maryland (In Concert) became COSMIC Symphony and is still the only community orchestra in Southern Maryland. Her hiring of Vladimir Lande, a world-class conductor, proved to be a key factor in the orchestra’s development and we continue to grow and thrive as a result. She also understood the need for more playing opportunities for flutists and in 2007, along with Linda Henry, established the COSMIC flute choir. An inspired and talented musician, Laura performed with the orchestra as Flute Section Principal until 2018 when she became a devoted member of the audience. Laura attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where she pursued her passion in Music Performance. She dreamed of a career as flutist with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra but, instead, chose to return to St Mary’s County to share her talents closer to family and to better serve her community. Laura loved music. Her joy and enthusiasm were always apparent. She also loved the people with whom she performed, and the unifying force music has on society. The COSMIC community thanks her and her family for their many years of service and support and will strive to honor her legacy when we are allowed to resume our performance schedule.

David Lewis Williams September 25, 1958 – September 29, 2020 The COSMIC family is saddened by the passing of our dear friend David Williams. Today he will be remembered and celebrated by friends and family who will miss his great spirit, humor, and kindness. Dave played violin with COSMIC from its earliest days until our pre-pandemic concert last November. He rarely missed a rehearsal in over twenty years and gave generously of both his time and money in supporting the orchestra. His great love of music was always apparent and we wish that he rests in peace with all his favorite tunes.

It is with enormous sadness that we are forced to cancel this year’s family concerts. While we would love to get together and share music, it is much more important to observe all advisories and keep ourselves and each other healthy. We especially regret that our young soloists and youth orchestra members will not get the chance to perform with us this month, but we hope very much they will be able to play with COSMIC next season. Meanwhile, COSMIC will reconvene in a couple of weeks to begin work on a very exciting program for our finale. Watch for details. We wish you all good health and hope to see you in May.

Tickets https://www.ticketpeak.com/res/abigailsclassicalballet