Portland Symphony Orchestra

Last updated

The Portland Symphony Orchestra (PSO) was established in 1923 in Portland, Maine as the Amateur Strand Symphony Orchestra. Started by a small group of musicians who had sent out invitations to join their organization to people in the area, they had their first rehearsal the following year with 75 instrumentalists, [1] giving their first concert a month later at the Strand Theater. In 1927 the orchestra changed its name to the Portland Municipal Orchestra, and again in 1932 to the Portland Maine Symphony. In 1969, the orchestra's name was changed to the Portland Symphony Orchestra, after that name became available when an older orchestra in Portland, Oregon, relinquished it in favor of a new name, the Oregon Symphony. Today the Portland Symphony Orchestra is recognized to be one of the top orchestras of its size in the country. The concert season runs from September to May and during July, and performs a variety of concerts in their home concert hall Merrill Auditorium.

Contents

Conductors

The Portland Symphony Orchestra has had 13 main conductors since its establishment in 1923. Its first conductor was the city of Portland's organist, Charles Raymond Cronham, from 1927 to 1932. During his tenure, he extended rehearsals and the concert schedule. He also inaugurated out-of-town concerts such as the performance at Bowdoin College in January 1928. Volunteers and musicians transported the orchestra and all its instruments, including two pianos.

In 1933, a school of music supervisor, Charles A. Warren, from Brunswick took over for a year.

From 1935 to 1937, Paul E. Melrose was the main conductor. He was part of the 5th US Infantry Band at Fort Williams as the warrant officer and band leader.

Dr. Russell Ames Cook was the first out-of-state conductor. An outgoing man, he befriended the "leading families" of the orchestra, and they helped him get support. During his tenure from 1938 until 1951, there was an increase in donations, supporters, and volunteers which were all essential to its success.

In 1952, the concertmaster and associate conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Richard Burgin, became the PSO's conductor. His legacy was to help improve the string section.

Rouben Gregorian took over in 1958, after Burgin's administration ended. He was a graduate of Central College in Iran, where he had been the co-founder and conductor of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra. As the main conductor of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, he finalized the enactment of a fully paid orchestra in 1959.

In 1962, Arthur Bennett Lipkin began his tenure. He was the first resident conductor and began the youth concerts. The orchestra was involved with Voice of America broadcasts, including a broadcast to Kyoto, Japan.

From 1967 until 1975, Paul Vermal was the main conductor. He conducted a five-day Canadian Tour. He also introduced outdoor concerts and concert previews.

The Portland Symphony Orchestra developed a national reputation for its artistic quality during Bruce Hangen's subsequent tenure. He helped expand educational programs which attracted children of all ages. He also created and developed the Portland Symphony Chamber Orchestra. His administration lasted from 1976 until 1986.

Toshiyuki Shimada took over in 1986. He tightened the orchestra's grasp of symphonic masterworks and deepened its commitment to youth and family programming, while building higher on the firm music foundations left by his predecessors.

Robert Moody was the 12th music director of the Portland Symphony from 2008 until 2018. He was a champion of new music, particularly the work of Mason Bates, and began the Discovery Concert series for families.

Eckart Preu has been named the 13th music director of the Portland Symphony and began his tenurein the 2019–2020 season.

1956–1958 guest conductors:

Samuel Seineger
Rouben Gregorian
Attilio Poto
Francis Findlay

1966–1967 guest conductors:

Charles Gabor
Elyakum Shapiro
Maurice Kaplow
Andrew Galos
Andrew Galos
Paul Vermel

1975–1976 guest conductors:

Michael Palmer
Michael Charry
Claude Monteux
Bruce Hangen
Maurice Kaplow
Richard Williams
Tibor Pusztai

1985–1986 guest conductors:

Robert Bernhardt
Toshiyuki Shimada
Robert Page
Catherine Comet
Paul Polivnick

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Symphony</span> American symphony orchestra in San Francisco, California, United States

The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus (1972) are part of the organization. Michael Tilson Thomas became the orchestra's music director in 1995, and concluded his tenure in 2020 when Esa-Pekka Salonen took over the position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle Symphony</span>

The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic, officially known in shorthand as LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September. Gustavo Dudamel is the current music director, Esa-Pekka Salonen is conductor laureate, Zubin Mehta is conductor emeritus, and Susanna Mälkki is principal guest conductor. John Adams is the orchestra's current composer-in-residence.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston Symphony</span> American symphony orchestra

The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Symphony</span> Orchestra based in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Oregon Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded as the 'Portland Symphony Society' in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States. Its home venue is the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in downtown Portland's Cultural District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Youth Philharmonic</span> Youth orchestra based in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) is the oldest youth orchestra in the United States, established in 1924 as the Portland Junior Symphony (PJS). Now based in Portland, Oregon, the orchestra's origin dates back to 1910, when music teacher Mary V. Dodge began playing music for local children in Burns, Oregon. Dodge purchased instruments for the children and organized the orchestra, which would become known as the Sagebrush Symphony Orchestra. After touring the state, including a performance at the Oregon State Fair in Salem, the orchestra disbanded in 1918 when Dodge moved to Portland. There, Dodge opened a violin school and became music director of the Irvington School Orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manfred Honeck</span> Austrian conductor

Manfred Honeck is an Austrian conductor. He is currently the music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra based in Orange County, California. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall as a part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. From 1987 to 2016, the orchestra's Summer Festival concerts took place at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tehran Symphony Orchestra</span> Irans symphony orchestra

The Tehran Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1933, is Iran's oldest and largest symphony orchestra. It was founded as the Municipality Symphony Orchestra by Gholamhossein Minbashian, before entering its modern form under Parviz Mahmoud in 1946. In the years that followed, conductors such as Rubik (Ruben) Gregorian, Morteza Hannaneh, Haymo Taeuber, Heshmat Sanjari, and Farhad Meshkat took over as the conductors of the orchestra.

Toshiyuki Shimada is a Japanese-born American orchestral conductor. He is Music Director of both the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra in New London, CT; the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes in Corning, NY; and the New Britain Symphony Orchestra. He had been Music Director of the Yale Symphony Orchestra of Yale University from 2005 to 2019, and currently he is Director of Orchestral Activity at the Connecticut College. He is also Music Director Laureate of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, in Portland, Maine, of which he was Music Director from 1986 to 2006. Prior to Portland, he was Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony Orchestra for six years, beginning in 1981. He also serves as Principal Conductor of the Vienna Modern Masters, in Austria since 1998.

The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (KSO) was founded in 1921 and is now the third largest professional orchestra in Michigan. During the 2005–2006 concert season, the orchestra played for more than 100,000 people in more than 30 concerts. The orchestra's main venue is Western Michigan University's Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo, MI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra</span> American symphony orchestra

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Fort Worth, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall. In addition to its symphonic and pops concert series, the FWSO also collaborates with the Fort Worth Opera, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Southwestern Seminary Master Chorale. and the Children's Education Program of Bass Performance Hall. The FWSO also presents the Concerts In The Garden summer music festival at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

Opera Maine - formally PORTopera - is a professional opera company founded in 1994 by [a group of opera lovers including Bruce Hangen, Jack Riddle, Russ Burleigh, Dona D. Vaughn and others.] and based in Portland, Maine, although some of its productions travel within the state. Its name derives from "Portland Opera Repertory Theatre" (PORT). The principal company presents one, or occasionally up to three, operas each summer, and its adjunct Maine Emerging Artists Young Artists Program, founded in 1996, generally presents one more on a smaller scale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarasota Orchestra</span> American symphony orchestra

The Sarasota Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Sarasota, Florida. The orchestra is administratively based at the Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center. The orchestra performs concerts in Sarasota at several venues:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denver Symphony Orchestra</span> American orchestra

The Denver Symphony Orchestra, established in 1934 and dissolved in 1989, was a professional American orchestra in Denver, Colorado. Until 1978, when the Boettcher Concert Hall was built to house the symphony orchestra, it performed in a succession of theaters, amphitheaters, and auditoriums. It was the predecessor to the Colorado Symphony, although the two ensembles were legally and structurally separate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princeton Symphony Orchestra</span>

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra is a professional U.S. orchestra based in Princeton, New Jersey. Rossen Milanov has been music director since 2009, leading the orchestra in critically acclaimed performances. All orchestra concerts take place at the 900-seat Richardson Auditorium Richardsonian Romanesque, a historic concert hall located on the campus of Princeton University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Gershkovitch</span> Russian conductor and musician

Jacques Gershkovitch (1884–1953) was a Russian conductor and musician who became the first music director of the Portland Junior Symphony, the first youth orchestra in the United States, based in Portland, Oregon. Born to a musical family in Irkutsk, Gershkovitch was sent to Saint Petersburg in his late teens to study at the Imperial Conservatory. In 1913, he graduated with honors in flute and conducting, and was awarded the Schubert Scholarship for a year of study under German conductor Arthur Nikisch in Berlin. Gershkovitch returned to Irkutsk to enlist during World War I, and by 1916 he had become head of the Imperial Russian Army's military symphony orchestra. He held this position through the Russian Revolution and thereafter, as concerts were often presented as benefits for orphans and the Red Cross.

Huw Edwards is a Welsh conductor. Edwards' conducting career began at age seventeen when he became music director of the Maidstone Opera Company in England. He later attended the University of Surrey, where he conducted the college orchestra along with an ensemble that he formed himself. At age twenty-three, he won a conducting competition which sent him to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He then held a lecturer position at Northwestern University in Chicago, where he was also a doctoral candidate. Edwards was conductor and music director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic from 1995 to 2002 followed by the Seattle Youth Symphony from 2002 to 2005. He served as music director of the Portland Columbia Symphony from 2000 to 2012 and with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra from 2003 to 2020.

The Portland Columbia Symphony is a symphony orchestra based in Portland, Oregon, founded in 1982 as the Palatine Hill Symphony by Jerry Luedders. Then director of the school of music at Lewis & Clark College and conductor of the school's orchestra, Luedders formed the ensemble by recruiting the "best" players from several community orchestras. Rehearsals were originally held at Evans Auditorium on the campus of Lewis & Clark. Luedders served as conductor and music director until 1986.

References

  1. Brown, Emily Freeman (August 20, 2015). "Portland Symphony Orchestra". A Dictionary for the Modern Conductor. Scarecrow Press. p. 270. ISBN   9780810884014 . Retrieved June 15, 2016 via Google Books.