The Springfield Symphony Orchestra is an American

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 ...

based in Springfield, Massachusetts. It performs at Symphony Hall, a part of the Springfield Municipal Group. The Springfield Symphony (SSO) got its start when the conductor of the amateur Pioneer Valley Symphony of Greenfield, Alexander Leslie, decided he was ready to lead a professional organization. After gaining the support of the area cultural and business communities, Leslie began to assemble an orchestra based in Springfield, which had no professional orchestra. The SSO performed its first concert at the Municipal Auditorium in 1944. Its first performance was given great reviews and even recorded by the Office of War Information for rebroadcast overseas. The SSO has throughout its history support musical education programs in the Greater Springfield area. Springfield Symphony Orchestra before concert

Springfield Symphony Orchestra before concert

Today, the SSO is the largest symphony in Massachusetts outside of Boston, and was described by D. Antoinette Handy, a former music director of the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, as "one of the nation's premiere regional orchestras". * It consists of 80 musicians from

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and usually holds as many as 150 performances as either the full orchestra or in ensemble formats. Its concerts are often broadcast over

WFCR WFCR (88.5 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Amherst, Massachusetts. It serves as the National Public Radio (NPR) member station for Western Massachusetts, including Springfield. The station operates at 13,000 watts ERP ...

, the area

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

station. The current music director is Kevin Rhodes. It is the parent organization of two youth orchestras: the Springfield Youth Sinfonia (formally Young Person's Philharmonia) and the Springfield Youth Orchestra (formally Young Person's Symphony). They offer young musicians a chance to play in a full orchestra, an option not offered in many schools.

References

External links

Official website / home page
{{Authority control Culture of Springfield, Massachusetts Orchestras based in Massachusetts Musical groups from Springfield, Massachusetts Economy of Springfield, Massachusetts Musical groups established in 1944 1944 establishments in Massachusetts