The Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra (NISO) is an American symphony orchestra based in
Indiana.
Originally called the Gary Symphony,
the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra (NISO) performed their first show on December 7, 1941, opening with the
Star Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bo ...
. The original orchestra was amateur; they became professional and changed their name to the current title in 1976.
The orchestra attracted attention in the mid-1980s when
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...
performed with them as a soloist, and subsequently also played with
Stephen Hough and
Marilyn Horne.
They debuted at the
Orchestra Hall in
Chicago in 1992, with
Stephanie Chase
Stephanie Ann Chase (born ) is an American classical violinist.
Life and career
Chase was born in Evanston, Illinois. She is the daughter of two musicians, the noted arranger and composer Bruce Chase and violinist Fannie (Paschell) Chase. She ...
as soloist.
[Shen, Ted (June 11, 1992). Indiana orchestra struts good stuff at Orchestra Hall. '' Chicago Tribune'', p. 13C]
The Northwest Indiana Symphony is a
non-profit organization that currently produces an eight concert season running from September through May and consists of four classical and four pops concerts. The symphony introduced the South Shore Summer Music Festival in 2007 featuring free summer concerts in
Northwest Indiana communities.
The Symphony conducts a number of educational programs for children from Northwest Indiana and the south suburban
Chicago including hands-on instrument learning and educational-themed concerts for elementary and middle school students. The Symphony also manages a Youth Orchestra; a Chorus, directed by Nancy Menk, with more than a hundred amateur singers which started in 1987; and hosts an annual Young People's Competition, sponsored by
NiSource.
As of 2023, NISO is under the music direction of conductor Kirk Muspratt, who took over in 1999.
[Kostanczuk, Bob (July 12, 2018). Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra continue summer tour tradition. '' Chicago Tribune'' Online]Maestro Kirk Muspratt
Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra (accessed October 27, 2023)[Reich, Howard. (September 25, 1988). Culture crops up: Northwest Indiana Symphony is thinking big. '' Chicago Tribune'', p. 15][Potempa, Philip (February 25, 2022). Music to his ears: Conductor Kirk Muspratt marks 20 years with NWI Symphony. '' Chicago Tribune'' Online]
References
External links
Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra
{{authority control
American orchestras
Musical groups from Indiana
Musical groups established in 1941
Performing arts in Indiana
1941 establishments in Indiana