In Brief | The League of American Orchestras salutes member organizations that are celebrating noteworthy anniversaries during the 2024-25 season. Here’s a look at just some of the synchronicities and juxtapositions of orchestral music across the country—and across time.

Remember Y2K? The turn of the previous century provoked no such hysteria, but the year 1900 did produce some seismic cultural events. Puccini’s Tosca had its premiere in Rome, the first Michelin Guide was published in France, and Sir Arthur Sullivan died in London. Across the Atlantic, The Wizard of Oz was published in Chicago, Aaron Copland was born in Brooklyn, and a small group of musicians with the German conductor Fritz Scheel founded the Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the first major American musical institutions to be born in the brand-new century. Barely a quarter of a century later, in 1924, Mary Curtis Bok launched the Curtis Institute of Music in downtown Philadelphia, aimed at training professional musicians; the orchestra and the school would become inextricably linked, with Curtis supplying musicians to the orchestra who would in turn become faculty.

This copious list of anniversaries of American musical institutions tracks the growth and development of orchestral music across the country and the centuries. Launching a symphony orchestra went hand in hand with civic growth. In the 1930s, the trend proceeded westward through Michigan, with the Lansing and Grand Rapids symphonies founded during the 1929-30 season, as well as the West Michigan Symphony in Muskegon and, right across Lake Michigan, the Kenosha Symphony (Wisconsin) established at the decade’s end. Meanwhile, in 1934-35, prominent citizens in Buffalo, NY and Montreal recruited New York City-based conductors to helm their new endeavors: respectively Lajos Shuk, a cellist and director of the New York Civic Symphony, and the Canadian-born Wilfrid Pelletier, then a busy staff conductor at the Metropolitan Opera. Pelletier would also be an important figure in the establishment of Montreal’s music conservatory.

Music education was sometimes the spur for orchestra creation. The Atlanta Symphony was launched as the Atlanta Youth Symphony in 1945, its ranks filled with high school and college-age musicians. Professionals were soon added “to inspire the young musicians;” in 1947, the orchestra adopted its current name. Rhode Island’s orchestra, also celebrating its 80th season, merged with a community music school in 2000 to become the Rhode Island Philharmonic & Music School, becoming one of the few fully integrated professional orchestras and music schools in the United States.

The 1964-65 season saw the creation of six youth orchestras, ranging across the country from Virginia to Washington to Hawai‘i. The Florida Youth Symphony ran up against the toxic racial politics of the period: when the venue hosting the youth orchestra’s first rehearsals objected to Black and Latino children in the program, the orchestra moved to the North Miami Beach City Hall, where it was sponsored by the mayor.

Launching a symphony orchestra went hand in hand with civic growth.

A watershed moment in the birth of non-traditional orchestras was the 1974 founding of New York’s Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL), now celebrating its 50th anniversary season. This assemblage of counter-culture-y virtuoso chamber musicians, organized by Michael Feldman, played concerts at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields in Greenwich Village—the first included a small opera, a Telemann suite, and an organ concerto—and hired itself out to other groups, including dance companies. In 1979, it was officially expanded into a full orchestra for the Caramoor International Music Festival and quickly became the go-to for-hire orchestra for special projects at Carnegie Hall and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, working with guest conductors. Later, the orchestra appointed its own music directors and principal conductors and presented concert seasons while maintaining its independent attitude.

ROCO (originally the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, based in Houston, Texas), founded 30 years later by oboist Alecia Lawyer, is in some ways an heir of OSL, its format reflective of a new age. A flexible, musician-led organization, it ranges from one to 40 players, specializes in commissioning new music, has artistic partners rather than music directors, sells many of its tickets on a pay-what-you-wish basis, and began live-streaming its concerts for free in 2013.

This season marks Carl St.Clair’s 35th—and likely final—year as music director of the Pacific Symphony. St.Clair is the longest-tenured American-born conductor of a major American orchestra. He has presided over considerable growth: The Pacific Symphony became the largest-budget orchestra formed in the last 50 years and moved into its new custom-built Cesar Pelli-designed concert hall in Costa Mesa, California.

Orchestras are still being formed: consider the ten-year-old Kirkland Civic Orchestra in Washington, a community ensemble formerly called the Microsoft Orchestra (its music director is a software engineer). And on the other side of the country, the venerable Handel and Haydn Society is celebrating not only 30 years of youth choruses, but the fact that it has performed Handel’s Messiah for 170 consecutive seasons.

This anniversaries list offers a fascinating juxtaposition of the old and the new and demonstrates how the urge to make music lives on.


Note:
The list was developed based on submissions by members of the League of American Orchestras and information from the League’s database. If your League-member organization is missing from the list, please email member@americanorchestras.org with “Anniversary” in the subject line.


 

130 Years

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (OH)

125 Years

The Philadelphia Orchestra (PA)

105 Years

Plainfield Symphony Orchestra (NJ)

100 Years

Boston Civic Symphony (MA)

Curtis Institute of Music (PA)

Portland Symphony Orchestra (ME)

95 Years

Grand Rapid Symphony (MI)

Harrisburg Symphony (PA), also celebrating 25 years with Music Director Stuart Malina

Lansing Symphony Orchestra (MI)

Wheeling Symphony Orchestra (WV)

90 Years

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (NY)

Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra (IN)

Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (QC, Canada)

Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MO)

Vermont Symphony Orchestra (VT)

85 Years

Kenosha Symphony Orchestra (WI)

Norwalk Symphony Orchestra (CT)

Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute (PA)

Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra (NJ)

West Michigan Symphony (MI)

80 Years

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (GA)

Mississippi Symphony Orchestra (MI)

Oak Ridge Civic Music Association (TN)

Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School (RI)

Wichita Symphony Orchestra (KS)

75 Years

Elgin Symphony Orchestra (IL)

Idaho Falls Symphony (ID)

Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra (IL)

Jackson Symphony Orchestra (MI)

Jacksonville Symphony (FL), also celebrating 10 years with Music Director Courtney Lewis and 40 years of the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus

New Britain Symphony Orchestra (CT)

San Angelo Symphony Orchestra (TX)

70 Years

Augusta Symphony (GA)

Carolina Youth Symphony (SC)

Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra (WY)

Clinton Symphony Orchestra (IA)

Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra (CA)

Harrisburg Symphony Youth Orchestras (PA)

Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra (IL)

65 Years

Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra (IL)

60 Years

American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras (VA)

Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestras (WA)

DeKalb Symphony Orchestra (GA)

Fort Worth Youth Orchestra (TX)

Hawaii Youth Symphony (HI)

Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra (CT)

Sarasota Youth Orchestra (FL)

South Carolina Philharmonic (SC)

South Florida Youth Symphony (FL)

Western Piedmont Symphony (NC)

50 Years

Charlottesville Symphony (VA)

Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra (WI)

Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra (OH)

Dukes of Dixieland (LA)

Metropolitan Youth Symphony (OR)

Orchestra of St. Luke’s (NY)

Reno Chamber Orchestra (NV)

Southeastern Ohio Symphony Orchestra (OH)

45 Years

Paducah Symphony Orchestra (KY)

Skagit Symphony (WA)

40 Years

Acadiana Symphony Orchestra (LA)

The Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew’s (CA)

National Philharmonic (MD)

Redwood Symphony (CA)

The Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra (VA)

35 Years

Alhambra Orchestra (FL)

Chicago Philharmonic (IL)

Pacific Symphony (CA), celebrating 35 years with Music Director Carl St.Clair

Valdosta Symphony Orchestra (GA)

30 Years

Allentown Symphony (PA), celebrating 30 years with Music Director Diane Wittry and 125 years of their venue, Miller Symphony Hall

Handel and Haydn Society (MA), celebrating 30 years of the Handel and Haydn Society Youth Choruses

Lexington Symphony (KY)

Civic Symphony of Green Bay (WI)

Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra (NY)

Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes (NY)

25 Years

Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestras (OH), celebrating 25 years with Conductor Patrick Reynolds

Dubuque Symphony Orchestra (IA), celebrating 25 years with Music Director and Conductor William Intriligator

Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia (WA)

The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony (NY)

20 Years

Annapolis Symphony Orchestra (MD), celebrating 25 years with Artistic Director and Conductor José-Luis Novo

Blue Ridge Orchestra (NC)

New Philharmonic (IL), celebrating 20 years with Music Director and Conductor Kirk Muspratt

ROCO (TX)

Sedona Symphony (AZ)

15 Years

Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra (CT), celebrating 15 years with Music Director and Conductor Toshiyuki Shimada

Rogue Valley Symphony (OR), celebrating 15 years with Music Director Martin Majkut

10 Years

Aiken Symphony Orchestra (SC)

Alabama Symphony Orchestra (AL), celebrating 10 years with Music Director Carlos Izcaray

Boston Symphony Orchestra (MA), celebrating 10 years with Music Director Andris Nelsons

Kirkland Civic Orchestra (WA)

LaGrange Symphony Orchestra, (GA) celebrating 10 years with Music Director and Conductor Richard Prior