The Southeast Symphony Association is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

al and cultural association located in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

. The association was founded in 1948 by music teacher Mabel Massengill Gunn. Gunn's goal was to create an

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 ...

that welcomed

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

musicians, music teachers and patrons of the arts in an era during which the

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

world was still predominantly segregated. As of 2010, the association's orchestra remains the longest continuously performing primarily African-American orchestra in the world. Alumni of the association's orchestra have gone on to perform with the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the 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 th ...

, the

Hollywood Bowl Orchestra The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra (HBO) is a symphony orchestra which is managed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and plays the vast majority of its performances at the Hollywood Bowl. John Mauceri led the orchestra from its founding in 1990 ...

, the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

and the El Paso Opera Company. The group currently offers musical classes to students of various ages through the

Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...

. The association has a sponsorship relationship with the

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

car company. The current Music Director and Conductor of the symphony is

Anthony R. Parnther Anthony Parnther is an American conductor, bassoonist, and educator. In 2019 he was appointed music director and conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra in San Bernardino, California. He is also the music director of the Southeast ...

References

External links

Official websiteMusical Study
American classical music groups Inglewood, California Music of Los Angeles {{US-orchestra-stub