The Tucson Symphony Orchestra, or TSO, is the primary professional orchestra of Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1928, when the season consisted of just two concerts, the TSO is the oldest continuously running performing arts organization in the Southwest. The TSO's season now runs from September to May and consists of over 60 concerts, including a Classics Series of eight programs, a Pops Series of four programs, a Masterworks series of five chamber orchestra programs, a number of one-night only specials, and run-out concerts to surrounding areas, such as Oro Valley, Green Valley, Bisbee, Safford, Thatcher, and Nogales. The TSO also provides educational programming that reaches over 40,000 school children each season. Within the TSO are a number of standing chamber ensembles, including a string quartet, string quintet, piano trio, harp trio, brass quintet, and woodwind quintet. These ensembles help provide educational programming through school visits, perform recitals annually, and also perform at private and community events.
The TSO performs music of a variety of styles, including classical, big-band, folk, jazz, pop, mariachi, and also commissions and performs new works by living composers.
History of the TSO
The TSO performed its first concert on January 13, 1929 with Camil Van Hulse at the podium. The program, performed at the Tucson High School auditorium, featured 60 volunteer musicians from throughout the community (including co-founder Juliani on double bass).
The Orchestra played Schubert’s Rosamunde Overture and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Local papers hailed the debut as a monumental achievement and said the audience greeted the Symphony’s performance with “surprise, admiration and bursts of enthusiasm.”
Though there were only two concerts the first season, the second offered three concerts and featured a new conductor, Joseph De Luca, who remained with the Symphony for five years. Concerts were held on Sunday evenings at 8:30. The early concert programs were all-orchestral; on March 16, 1930, soprano Mary Margaret Fischer appeared as the orchestra’s first soloist.
Midway through the third season, the TSO moved to the Temple of Music and Art, first playing there on January 25, 1931.
1930s – 1950s
In the late 1930s, the TSO’s financial situation was tenuous, prompting a decision to merge with the University of Arizona. From 1939-1950, the TSO existed under the auspices of the university, sharing access to music, offering credit to students who performed with the orchestra, and financial support. The orchestra performed under George C. Wilson from 1939 until his retirement in 1946, and then with Professor Samuel Fain from 1946 through his retirement in 1950.
Concerts were held in the UArizona Auditorium (now known as Centennial Hall).
As the 1950s opened, the orchestra was faced with a dilemma. Until this time, the musicians of the orchestra had not been paid. The Local 771 Union suggested payment of $15 a concert, but was met with opposition. After a yearlong standoff (which included 19 musicians and the conductor walking out), a coup de grace was found with a performance by John Charles Thomas, the most famous baritone at the time. By raising ticket prices (to $10, from $5) and filling 2200 seats, the TSO went into the black and proved that it was possible to pay the musicians. A budget was agreed upon in 1951 that included musician pay.
1952 saw the arrival of Frederic Balazs, the TSO’s first full-time, paid conductor and the debut of the Tucson Symphony Women’s Association, the first organization formed to support the TSO.
In 1958, the Tucson Symphony Youth Orchestra was founded, and it was also the first year of the annual Cotillion fundraiser.
1960s-1970s
Through the 1960s, the orchestra continued to expand in size and in budget. The decade brought the first-ever grant from the Tucson City Council ($2500, in 1965), the first performance with the Tucson City Chorus (a sold-out 1966 event), the first sold-out concert season (1967), and the first year that the operating budget surpassed $100,000 (1968).
In 1971, the TSO, under the direction of Music Director Gregory Millar moved to its current performance space- The Tucson Music Hall (now known as the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall). The opening performance was led by Arthur Fiedler (who also participated in a parade on a fire truck as part of the festivities the following day).
The TSO celebrated its 50th anniversary in the 1978-79 season, which included a concert featuring 99 musicians conducted by Music Director Dr. George Trautwein. Camil Van Hulse also returned to conduct the Rosamunde overture, a special nod to the orchestra’s first performance.
1980's-1990s
By the early 1980s the budget surpassed $500,000, earning the status of regional orchestra from the American Symphony Orchestra League. Music Director William McGlaughlin (now well known as the host of Exploring Music on National Public Radio) arrived in 1982 and established the Joy of Music series for families with young children. He was succeeded by Robert Bernhardt in 1987, who became a fixture in the community (and a frequent guest conductor following his departure).
During the 1990s, the organization was also able to purchase an administrative and rehearsal space that it still occupies today: The Tucson Symphony Center. Its outreach and education programs expanded, including the launch of the Young Composers Project. Thanks in part to grant funding, the TSO performed in communities throughout Southern Arizona, including Ajo, Bisbee, and Nogales.
George Hanson, the TSO’s longest-serving Music Director, arrived in 1996. Under his leadership, the TSO began performances in 2000 at the acoustically excellent Catalina Foothills High School auditorium, which has since become a firm favorite as the TSO’s second home. In 2003 the TSO Chorus was formed under the direction of Dr. Bruce Chamberlain, and continues to perform with the orchestra today for Handel’s Messiah and other orchestral choral masterworks.
Present
Maestro José Luis Gomez was appointed in 2016, the TSO’s first-ever Spanish-speaking music director. Under his artistic leadership, the TSO has expanded the quality and breadth of its programming, with a special focus on southern Arizona’s cultural heritage. In his first season, the orchestra performed to 150,000 people at the iconic All Soul’s Procession in downtown Tucson. Most recently, the TSO launched ¡Celebration latina!, a series of concerts embracing the large Hispanic and Latinx community. Maestro Gomez has also invested his energies in the Young Composers Project, commissioning several alumni for works on the main series. The TSO presents a number of new collaborations annually, including performances with Mariachi Aztlán de Pueblo High School, the Tucson Girls Chorus, the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus, the Tucson International Mariachi Festival, Orkesta Mendoza, and Calexico.
In 2022, the TSO’s home downtown was renamed as the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall.
In the 2023-24 season the TSO celebrates its 95th anniversary. The organization is a member of the League of American Orchestra’s Group 3 with an annual budget of 6 million dollars. Over forty concerts a year are performed across the Classic, Masterworks, and Special Events series.
Mission
The mission of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra is to engage, educate and transform our community through live musical experiences of the highest quality.[1]
Music Directors
The Orchestra has played under the leadership of the following music directors:
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (TSYO). The TSO's most recent music director was Peter Oundjian, from 2004 to 2018. Sir Andrew Davis, conductor laureate of the TSO, has most recently served as the orchestra's interim artistic director. Gustavo Gimeno is music director of the TSO, since the 2020–2021 season.
Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, and Conductor Laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra.
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Buffalo, New York led by Music Director JoAnn Falletta. Its primary performing venue is Kleinhans Music Hall, which is a National Historic Landmark. Each season it presents over 120 classical series, pops, rock, youth, and family concerts. During the summer months, the orchestra performs at parks and outdoor venues across Western New York.
The Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Columbus, Ohio. The oldest performing arts organization in the city, its home is the Ohio Theatre. The orchestra's current executive director is Denise Rehg. Rossen Milanov is the orchestra's music director.
Arizona Opera is an opera company which operates in both Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.
The Richmond Symphony is based in Richmond, Virginia and is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia and one of the nation's leading regional orchestras. The organization includes a full-time orchestra with more than 70 musicians, the Richmond Symphony Chorus with 150 volunteer members, and the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra programs with more than 260 student participants. Each season, approximately 200,000 community members enjoy live concerts and radio broadcasts by the Richmond Symphony, and 55,000 students and teachers participate in the Symphony's educational outreach programs.
The Florida Orchestra is an American orchestra based in the tri-city area of Tampa, Clearwater and St. Petersburg, Florida. It was founded as the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony upon the 1968 merger of the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and the Tampa Philharmonic. The present name was adopted in 1984.
KUAT-FM is a radio station in Tucson, Arizona, United States. One of two radio services operated by the University of Arizona (UA) through its Arizona Public Media arm, it broadcasts a classical format throughout Southern Arizona. Studios are in the Modern Languages Building on the UA campus.
The San Antonio Symphony was a full-time professional symphony orchestra based in San Antonio, Texas. Its season ran from late September to early June. Sebastian Lang-Lessing, its music director from 2010 to 2020, was the last to serve in that capacity. The orchestra was a resident organization of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio. In August 2022, the orchestra's musicians reformed as the San Antonio Philharmonic, a name first used in 1914, and announced a ten-concert classical-music series for the 2022–23 season to be given at First Baptist Church of San Antonio, 100 yards from Tobin Center.
The Kansas City Symphony (KCS) is a United States symphony orchestra based in Kansas City, Missouri. The current music director is conductor Michael Stern. The Symphony performs at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, located at 1601 Broadway Boulevard.
The Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1947, is an orchestra located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. The orchestra performs at the Theater for Performing Arts in the Baton Rouge River Center.
The Oakland East Bay Symphony (OEBS) is a leading orchestra based in Oakland, California. Michael Morgan held the position of music director and conductor from September 1990 until his death in August 2021. The Paramount Theatre has been the home of the Symphony since 1995. Bryan Nies has been Associate Conductor since 2002. The Symphony presents six programs of music during the season.
Founded in 1944, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is the oldest professional Symphony Orchestra in Kansas, performing out of Century II Concert Hall in downtown Wichita.
William McGlaughlin is an American composer, conductor, music educator, and Peabody Award-winning classical music radio host. He is the host and music director of the public radio programs Exploring Music and Saint Paul Sunday.
Masterworks Chorale is a choral ensemble based in San Mateo, California.
The Windsor Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra located in Windsor, Ontario. The orchestra performs in Southwestern Ontario, playing both classical and popular music.
The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American orchestra based in Charlotte, North Carolina. As the largest and most active professional performing arts organization in the central Carolinas, the Charlotte Symphony plays approximately 100 performances each season and employs 100 professional musicians, 62 of whom are on full-time contracts. Annual attendance for CSO performances numbers over 200,000.
The Greenville Symphony Orchestra, often referred to simply as the Greenville Symphony, is an American symphony orchestra based in Greenville, South Carolina. Its home is located in the heart of downtown Greenville next to the Peace Center.
Louisville Chorus, established 1939 in Louisville, Kentucky, is the longest-thriving most frequently performing choral arts agency in Kentuckiana and neighboring states—also exceeding the longevity of opera, ballet, and theatre in the area.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
