The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (KSO) was founded in 1921 and is now the third largest professional

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. 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 Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

's Miller Auditorium in

Kalamazoo, MI Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropoli ...

History

The orchestra played its first concert under the direction of clarinetist-volunteer Chester Z. Bronson on December 28, 1921 with only 25 musicians.. Due to the efforts of Kalamazoo Symphony Society secretary and KSO Manager Leta G. Snow, by 1928, the orchestra had grown to 75 musicians and its fourth conductor, David Mattern. In 1934, the orchestra named Dr. Herman Felber, Jr. conductor, a post he would continue to fill for 25 years. Dr. Felber oversaw the first auditions for youth soloists. During the 1940s, several outstanding soloists were featured with the orchestra, including

Artur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish-American pianist.

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Poland, Stern came to the US when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union and China, and ...

, and

Georges Enesco George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history, Enescu is featured on the Romanian five lei. Biogr ...

. The 1959 season was the last under Dr. Felber's direction. During the 1960 season the KSO performed under 6 different guest conductors. Ultimately, Gregory Millar became the full-time resident conductor and music director. His tenure saw the introduction of many long-standing programs, including children's concerts, concerts in other locales in southwest Michigan, and the Art Center recitals by KSO musicians. The first of the popular "Starlight" summer concert series came in 1962; the concerts featured popular musicians like Louis Armstrong and were held on the roof of the Gilmore parking garage in downtown

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropoli ...

. Millar's tenure was succeeded by Pierre Hetu in 1968 and Yoshimi Takeda in 1974. Maestro Takeda's 25-year tenure as Music Director and Conductor saw the KSO establish its high level of musicality. The current Music Director, Raymond Harvey, was appointed in 1999. In 2018, Julian Kuerti became the music director of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra.

References

External links

Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra
{{authority control Kalamazoo, Michigan Musical groups established in 1921 Orchestras based in Michigan Tourist attractions in Kalamazoo, Michigan 1921 establishments in Michigan

History

See also

References

External links