Growing up in Walter Hill outside of Murfreesboro, Alfred Gordon, “Al” among friends, loved music. After graduating from Oakland High School, he wanted to become a band director and took music classes during the college summer breaks in order to reach his goal. That is, until one day, he was asked to take some pictures at a fraternity.
Mr. Gordon discovered that he loved photography so much that it became his passion. After moving to Florida with his family as a young man, he took photography classes when he could while working at a One-Hour photo. When he had the time, he loved to photograph landscapes. One day he decided that he could make a career of becoming a wedding photographer, and with that passion and camera in hand, he became an accomplished, award-winning one.
Fast forward past decades of wedding photography in Florida, Mr. Gordon moved back to Tennessee, and last year he approached Murfreesboro Symphony Orchestra (MSO) with an idea he had been brewing on for a long time. He wanted to incorporate his unique passion and creativity for wedding photography into the symphony.
“It was an idea I had in the back of my head for a long time. I wanted to photograph the first chairs in their outfit around our area in places that people would recognize. It took some explaining to do for the MSO, but once I did, they were all on board,” he said.
The first photo was of cellist Mimi Nelson, featured on the cover of the MSO program last season. In this issue are more of the photos, such as timpanist Jeff Mulvihill at the United Methodist Church, where all the mainstage concerts are held. Clarinetists Greg Lawson at the Oaklands Mansion and Grace Woodworth at Canonsburg Village are joined by Marcus Arnold at The Discovery Center, and bassoonist Wilson Sharpe at the City Café. Trumpeter Alan Suska is atop the newly constructed Court House, harpist Sara Crocker is pictured at the City Hall, hornist Christian Codreanu at the Oaklands Mansion, bassist John Ownby at the Historic Courthouse, flutist Deanna Little at the Murfreesboro Greenway, violinist Stefan Petrescu inside the Historic Courthouse, violinist Cherri Drummond at Oaklands Mansion, and percussionist Chris Nelsen at the geographical center of the state of Tennessee.
Common denominator for these photos is that they frame the musicians in recognizable Rutherford County places, in locations people can associate with, creating an association of accomplished musicians in places with their own notoriety. That is also what Mr. Gordon seeks to accomplish when he photographs couples tying the knot. Mr. Gordon has an eye for the interaction between couples getting married and the place and time of the event. “It is an image that is supposed to tell a story for a long time to come,” he explained.
“Some of the sites we picked for the musicians were a bit unusual, such as the new seven story court house that is under construction. It was quite a sight to have Alan Suska dress up in his concert outfit and bring with him his instrument on the seventh floor, where the construction was ongoing,” Mr. Gordon said.
It is this eye for creativity that has earned Mr. Gordon many awards, both nationally and internationally over the years. With more than 1,000 weddings behind him and photo jobs in the entire south eastern United States, along with parts of the Caribbean, Mr. Gordon is always seeing motifs where he goes.
“I always have a camera with me. And sometimes I just have to stop along the road and take some pictures of things, places and people that I see. Sometimes I go up to people and ask if I can take their picture because I see a person in a light or in a place that sets it apart, and I just have to take a picture,” he said.
While his love for music is still there, he plays baritone and trombone, he never became a band director nor a player in the local symphony. But he wanted to contribute his artistic skills as a photographer to the symphony, and they are on display in this program for all to see.
Mr. Gordon is a Master Craftsman Photographer and has won the Grand Award for Weddings at the WPPI. Bill Shacklett at Shacklett’s Photography assisted Mr. Gordon with the MSO pictures.
To view these and other photos by Mr. Gordon, visit www.gordonimages.com