The Albany Symphony Orchestra is a professional symphony orchestra based in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

. Founded in 1930 as the People's Orchestra of Albany by Italian-born conductor John Carabella, the Albany Symphony is the oldest professional symphony orchestra based in New York's

Capital District A capital district, capital region or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any poli ...

. The orchestra annually performs at venues such as the Palace Theatre in Albany and the

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, is a performance space in Troy, Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The music hall, renowned for its acoustics and an Odell concert organ, is operated by a not-for-profit organization. It was designated ...

Troy, NY Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

David Alan Miller David Alan Miller (born 1961) is a multi-Grammy Award-winning American symphony orchestra conductor, and since 1992, music director of the Albany Symphony Orchestra. Miller served as assistant and associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharm ...

has served as Music Director and Conductor of the orchestra since 1992. Former music directors have included John Carabella, Rudolf Thomas,

Ole Windingstad Ole Windingstad (May 18, 1886 – June 3, 1959) was a Norwegian conductor, pianist and composer. He was the conductor of the Scandinavian Symphony Orchestra in Brooklyn, New York and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. His most notable symphonic compos ...

, Edgar Curtis, Julius Hegyi, and

Geoffrey Simon Geoffrey Philip Simon (born 3 July 1946) is an Australian conductor resident in London. Recordings Geoffrey Simon was born on 3 July 1946 in Adelaide. He was a student of Herbert von Karajan, Rudolf Kempe, Hans Swarowsky and Igor Markevitch, ...

. Since the 1980s, the Albany Symphony has released more than 20 CDs, encompassing nearly 60 works, for

New World Records New World Records is a record label that was established in 1975 through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to celebrate America's bicentennial (1976) by producing a 100-LP anthology, with American music from many genres.CRI Records,

Albany Records Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987 and is based in Albany, New York. See also * List of record la ...

, Argo,

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

, and London/Decca. The orchestra won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in 2014 and in 2021 and was nominated for an award in 2020. The Albany Symphony is unique in its mission statement to perform new works by modern composers, thereby exposing audiences to a new generation of orchestral music.

History

Founded in 1930 as the People's Orchestra of Albany by Italian-born conductor John Carabella, the Albany Symphony is the oldest professional symphony orchestra based in New York's

. The Albany Symphony celebrated its 75th anniversary during the 2005/2006 season, which included solo appearances by cellist

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

, bassist

Edgar Meyer Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated seven times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegras ...

, violinist

Yura Lee Yura may refer to: Place * Yura, Wakayama, a town in Japan * Yura District, a district in Peru * Yura Station, a railway station in Japan Ethnic groups and languages *Yura, or Adnyamathanha, an indigenous group of South Australia *Yura, or ...

, baritone Nathan Myers, violinist Colin Jacobsen, pianist Joel Fan, violinist Jonathan Gandelsman, clarinetist Susan Martula, pianist Findlay Cockrell, percussionist

Colin Currie Colin David Currie (born 25 September 1976) is a Scottish virtuoso percussionist. He is the founder and leader of the Colin Currie Group, an ensemble dedicated to performing and recording the music of Steve Reich. Biography Early years Col ...

, flutist Paolo Bortolussi, pianist

Yefim Bronfman Yefim "Fima" Naumovich Bronfman (russian: Ефим Наумович Бронфман; born April 10, 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli-American pianist. Biography Bronfman was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, and immigrated to Israel at the age of 15. H ...

, violinist

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (born January 10, 1961) is an Italian and American classical violinist and teacher. Early life and education Salerno-Sonnenberg was born in Rome, Italy. Her father left when she was three months old. She emigrated with ...

, and Frederic Lacroix. Also during the season, the Albany Symphony presented several world premiere performances of commissioned works by composers such as Stephen Dankner,

Michael Woods Michael Woods may refer to: * Michael Woods (Australian politician) (1857–1934), member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Michael Woods (comics), American writer/editor of comic books * Michael Woods (cyclist) (born 1986), Canadian cyclist ...

Bun Ching Lam Lam Bun-Ching (; b. Macau, 1954) is a Chinese American composer, pianist, and conductor. Early life and training Lam holds a B.A. degree in piano performance from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (1976). She obtained a scholarship from the U ...

, Carolyn Yarnell, and

Michael Torke Michael Torke (; born September 22, 1961) is an American composer who writes music influenced by jazz and minimalism. Torke was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he attended Wilson Elementary School, graduated from Wauwatosa East High School, an ...

. The Albany Symphony has performed with a wide variety of guest artists, including violinist

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He plays the Gibson Stradivarius. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, to Shirley Bell, a therapist, and Alan P. Bell, a psychologi ...

who was featured during the orchestra's 77th season in a concert that included

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

and selections from ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

''.

Music Directors

* John Carabella (1930–1938) * Rudolph Thomas (1939–1944) * Ole Windingstad (1945–1947) * Edgar Curtis (1948–1954) * Julius Hegyi (1965–1988) * Geoffrey Simon (1987–1991) * George Lloyd (1990–1991) *

(1992–present)

Discography

*''Peter Mennin''. Albany Records 260 :Peter Mennin: Concertato, "Moby Dick" :Peter Mennin: Symphony No. 5 :Peter Mennin: Fantasia for String Orchestra :Peter Mennin: Symphony No. 6 *''Morton Gould''. Albany Records 300 :Morton Gould: Show Piece for Orchestra :Morton Gould: Piano Concerto (Randall Hodgkinson, piano) :Morton Gould: StringMusic *''The Great American Ninth''. Albany Records 350 :Roy Harris: Memories of a Child's Sunday :Roy Harris: Symphony No. 9 :Roy Harris: Symphony No. 8 (Alan Feinberg, piano) *''Brutal Reality''. Albany Records 354 :Richard Adams: Brutal Reality :Arthur Bloom: Life is Like a Box of Chocolates :Evan Chambers: Concerto for Fiddle, Violin and Orchestra (Jill Levy, violin; :Nollaig Casey, fiddle) :John Fitz Rogers: Verge :Kamran Ince: Fest for Chamber Ensemble and Orchestra *''John Harbison''. Albany Records 390 :John Harbison: The Most Often Used Chords :John Harbison: Symphony No. 3 :John Harbison: Flute Concerto (Randolph Bowman, flute) *''Don Gillis''. Albany Records 391 :Don Gillis: Symphony "x" (The Big D) :Don Gillis: Shindig :Don Gillis: Encore Concerto (Alan Feinberg, piano) :Don Gillis: Symphony No. 5 - 1/2 *''Benjamin Lees''. Albany Records 441 :Andrew Bishop: Crooning :Allen Shawn: Piano Concerto (

Ursula Oppens Ursula Oppens (born February 2, 1944) is an American classical concert pianist and educator. She has received five Grammy Award nominations. Biography Ursula Oppens was born on February 2, 1944, in New York City into a highly musical family fr ...

, piano) :Paul Creston: Dance Overture :Benjamin Lees: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Ian Hobson, piano) *''George Lloyd''. Albany Reocords 458 :George Lloyd: Cello Concerto (Anthony Ross, cello) :George Lloyd: Orchestral Suite No. 1 from "The Serf" *''Gould & Harris''. Albany Records 515 :Roy Harris: Symphony No. 2 :Morton Gould: Symphony No. 3 *''William Schuman''. Albany Records 566 :William Schuman: Credendum :William Schuman: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (John McCabe, piano) :William Schuman: Symphony No. 4 *''Lopatnikoff, Helps, Thomson & Kurka''. Albany Records 591 :Nikolai Lopatnikoff: Festival Overture :Robert Helps: Concerto No. 2 for Piano & Orchestra (Alan Feinberg, piano) :Virgil Thomson: Filling Station (complete ballet) :Robert Kurka: Symphony No. 2, Op. 24 *''Morton Gould Symphony No. 2''. Albany Records 605 :Steven Stucky: Son et Lumiere :Gabriel Ian Gould: Watercolors (Robert Sheena, English horn) :John Harbison: Cello Concerto (David Finckel, cello) :Morton Gould: Symphony No. 2, "On Marching Tunes" *''Vincent Persichetti''. Albany Records 771 *''Torke: Strawberry Fields''. Ecstatic Records 92208 :Michael Torke: Strawberry Fields :Michael Torke: Pentecost for soprano and orchestra (Margaret Lloyd, soprano)

Honors and awards

The orchestra won the

Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo The Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo was first awarded during the annual Grammy Awards ceremony in 2012. It combines the previous categories for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra) The Grammy Award The G ...

in 2014 for its recording of John Corigliano's ''Conjurer - Concerto for Percussionist & String Orchestra'' with soloist

Evelyn Glennie Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish percussionist. She was selected as one of the two laureates for the Polar Music Prize of 2015. Early life Glennie was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. The in ...

on the

label. The orchestra was nominated in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

for a recording of

Derek Bermel Derek Bermel (born 1967, in New York City) is an American composer, clarinetist and conductor whose music blends various facets of world music, funk and jazz with largely classical performing forces and musical vocabulary. He is the recipie ...

’s ''Migration Series for Jazz Ensemble and Orchestra'' in the

Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to composers for quality works of contemporary classical ...

category. Conductor David Alan Miller was also nominated that year along with

Tessa Lark Tessa Lark is an American concert violinist from Kentucky. Early life Lark was born and raised in Richmond, Kentucky. She started violin training at age six through the Suzuki method. Her musical career began performing and recording with her ...

for a recording of

's ''Sky, Concerto for Violin'' in the Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo category. In

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, the orchestra won a second Grammy award in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category with a recording of Theofandis' ''Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra'' with soloist Richard O’Neill and with conductor David Alan Miller on the

label. The orchestra has won 26 awards from the American Society of Composers and Performers (ASCAP) for adventurous programming. ASCAP also awarded the orchestra the John S. Edwards Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music in 2013 and 2014.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1930 Culture of Albany, New York Orchestras based in New York (state) Organizations based in Albany, New York 1930 establishments in New York (state) Albany Records artists