A. Brian Davenport, musical director and conductor of the Federal Way Symphony, has a day job. And what he produces there is as refined, delightful and richly textured as the sounds he extracts from his company of musicians.

When he's not conducting, Davenport is making chocolate. His brother, Dana Taylor Davenport, owns and operates Dilettante Chocolates in Seattle, a decadent shop offering confections of the finest quality.

Last week, Davenport took time out of his busy schedule to talk with the Federal Way News about his leadership of the symphony for the past 25 years, and offered up a white chocolate truffle he and his brother had made that day.

One bite, and a conversation about his musical experiences, proved that Davenport is truly a connoisseur of the sweetest pleasures in life.

"The Federal Way Symphony has been a quarter century project that is ever expanding," said Davenport. "Still, our greatest challenge continues to be simply getting the word out that we're here!"

Founded in Burien in 1960 as the Highline Symphony, the orchestra moved to Federal Way in 1985, and when the city incorporated, the symphony began receiving support through the city's arts commission budget, about $15,000 a year.

"Step by step, that's how it's been," Davenport explained.

Davenport was born and raised in Walla Walla, spent his high school years in Seattle and received an undergraduate degree in music from Harvard. After serving as a soldier in Vietnam, he returned to Harvard to attain an M.A. in music. Then he was off to Paris to find himself studying under the venerable Nadia Boulanger, then in her late 80s and a composer, conductor and music professor who instructed many of the most influential musicians and composers of the 20th century, including Igor Stravinsky, Phillip Glass, Quincy Jones, Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland.

Positions with the Cologne and Darmstadt Operas followed, as well as guest appearances with the Monte Carlo and Darmstadt Symphonies. A trained pianist, Davenport decided to make a career of conducting.

After several years in Europe, Davenport wanted to return to live in Seattle and when his friend Hans Wolf, of Seattle Opera fame, mentioned an opening at the Highline Symphony, Davenport auditioned for the job in 1980.

Thus began his journey to raise the fledgling orchestra into a nationally recognized organization.

"We are a fully professional group now, and over the years we have strived to increase our budget so that we may attract the finest players," said Davenport.

"What is strikingly different today than when I started is the sophistication of the audience. They cannot be patronized or underestimated...when they come to hear us, they expect high quality, which is what I feel we have achieved."

Davenport and the company were very active in promoting passage of the recent failed school bond, which, had it passed, would have provided construction funds for a 900-seat performance auditorium. Since the largest public venue in Federal Way is the Knutzen Family Theater with 234 seats, the orchestra currently performs all concerts at St. Luke's Church at 515 S 312th Street, with a seating capacity of 606.

"I feel that it's top priority to build a large performance venue in Federal Way, not just for us, but for all the arts organizations around the area," said Davenport.

One exception to the performances at St. Luke's is the orchestra's August symphonic pops concert, held under tents at the Dumas Bay Center. Last year, with the attraction of internationally renowned blues and jazz artist Dee Daniels, together with the 60-piece Federal Way Symphony, the concert sold out.

Davenport says that this year the concert will be even better, headlined by Ernestine Anderson, on August 19th. The concert is 10% sold out so far and tickets sales are brisk. The maestro's plan over the next five years is to expand the summer pops concerts into a multi-weekend event.

"The budget for our Pops concert is up to half of our whole season, we put a lot of our resources into it. With the caf/ seating, the view, it's our most popular event," said Davenport.

The symphony also provides educational opportunities for young musicians around the South Sound, with their Summer Music Academy, which is open to students in the Federal Way area, and Young Musicians Competition. An award of $1000 for first place and the opportunity to perform with the symphony attracts entrants from around the country.

Another popular offering is the Garden Tour, held on July 15th this year. This one-day event incorporates a tour of homes around Federal Way with outstanding landscaping, accompanied by a concert by the Summer Music Academy and a presentation by Mary Robson, Seattle Times garden columnist.

The symphony's next concert is the April 2nd Chamber Music Concert. Current concertmaster Yuriy Mikhlin, formerly of the Kiev State Opera and Ballet, will direct a chamber music ensemble playing "Klarinet Quintet in B flat major" by C.M. von Weber, with Eric Tishkoff as the featured artist on clarinet.

Along with Tishkoff the quintet features Yuriy Mikhlin, second violin Leonid Keylin, violist Heather Bentley and cellist Rajan Krishnaswami. The program includes "String Quartet in G major # 13" by Haydn and Rossini's "String Quartet in D major # 5".

"And then it's Daniel del Pino!" exclaimed Davenport. Del Pino, a Spaniard who at 33 is already an international star, is coming to perform Ravel's Piano Concerto.

For more information, go to www.federalwaysymphony .org.