News from Britt Hill – June 2026

JUNE AT BRITT is all about the Britt Festival Orchestra, and this year is a banner season: we’re welcoming the BFO’s fifth-ever Music Director, Norman Huynh! Norman rose to the top of an extraordinary list of candidates and finalists, and we feel so lucky to be welcoming him to our team.

Norman’s first Britt event was when he hopped on a red-eye flight to fill in for Teddy Abrams a few years ago for The Princess Bride. He showed up, ran an incredibly efficient rehearsal, and led the film that night! This is a perfect example of who Norman is: someone who jumps in and gets the job done with grace, humor, and a whole lot of fun.

Last summer, Norman was one of three candidates who led the BFO for a week. His music selections, pre-concert talks, and remarks from the stage made him the overwhelming favorite for the position. He concluded his visit (and the BFO season) with Béla Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin, a piece of music that is extremely challenging for the orchestra and often difficult for the audience. For those of us in attendance that night, his red high-top shoes were the first indication that this wasn’t going to be a stuffy, formal experience. Norman walked to the podium, and instead of jumping straight into the music, he picked up the microphone. Turning to the audience, he led us through the story we were about to hear, including singing brief clips of the music to indicate key moments of action.

It was transformative. And I say that as someone who, as a professional musician, has played the piece before. Even with my level of (and I say this lovingly) nerdery, Miraculous Mandarin can be a challenge to follow! But Norman’s explanation made the piece incredibly rich, and I could picture the action in my head for the entire twenty minutes. Clearly, everyone else could, too, because the entire audience leapt to their feet at the end! And in the eleven months that have passed since, I’ve regularly had community members stop me to proclaim that they’ve suddenly become big fans of Bartók! (My music-nerd heart grins, brushes its hands together, and thinks, “my work here is done” every time this happens.)

All of this is to say: please consider joining us this month for the Britt Festival Orchestra. Norman will be staying in Jacksonville this June, along with his wife, Catherine, and their two-year-old, Romeo. If you see them out in the world, please be sure to say hello, welcome them to our community, and share a bit about your Britt experience. We’re incredibly honored and delighted to have them with us! Welcome to Britt, Norman!

All best, Abby