LEWISTON – After a decade of playing for Brunswick-area fans of classical music, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra hopes to broaden its audience with regular trips to Lewiston.

In his inaugural address Monday, Mayor Lionel Guay announced that the orchestra would be making a new home inside the Franco-American Heritage Center at St. Mary’s.

The 52-piece group plans to play regular concerts in the former church and it hopes to tap an audience eager for live classical music.

“Every time we come to Lewiston, we play for larger and larger audiences,” said Martin Jones, vice president and treasurer of the orchestra. The group, which is based at the Orion Performing Arts Center in Topsham, has played at Bates College several times, but the number of performances there is limited.

They were looking for somewhere else in Lewiston-Auburn to perform. The former St. Mary’s Church seemed perfect.

Its grand columns and 60-foot ceilings are visually dramatic and the acoustics seem right, Jones said.

“I think we can create a nice, vibrant, resonant sound,” he said. “And I don’t think it will be too echoey.”

The symphony’s director, Rohan Smith, believes the place will be “magical,” his wife said Tuesday.

The Sun Journal was unable to reach Smith, who was on his way home from a trip to his native Australia. But his wife, violinist Eva Gruesse, said Smith was “absolutely in love” with St. Mary’s.

The plan of the orchestra is to play the same number of concerts in Lewiston as it does in Topsham. Currently, they play four there each year. St. Mary’s is also attractive to the orchestra for the size of its audience. When renovations are complete, 450 permanent seats will be built on terrace-style levels.

“To survive we need to perform before audiences of more than 200 people,” Jones said. “The Orion is a terrific place. St. Mary’s will be our home away from home.”

Bob Grieshaber, president of the Lewiston-based Maine Music Society, applauded the news. His society’s Maine Chamber Ensemble played at St. Mary’s last month.

“I think it’s wonderful that we have another musical group in the community,” Grieshaber said.

Jones said the orchestra hopes to build on the momentum of the past couple of years.

Last year, the group hired Smith, the musical director of Phillips Exeter Academy. He was chosen from 70 candidates and four finalists, each of whom directed the orchestra for a performance. Smith was the standout, Jones said.

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