The Oklahoma City Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

History

As is the case with many

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

symphony orchestras, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic owes a degree of its heritage to two predecessor professional symphonic orchestras in the city, the first having been launched in 1924 as the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra. As a marker in history, the orchestra finished the 1928–1929 season, its fifth consecutive season, having performed 7 concerts during the winter to audiences of 2,000 in the

Shrine Auditorium The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 139) in 1975, and ...

that had been erected in 1923. The Second Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1938 with Ralph Asher Rose, Jr. (1911–1984) conducting the inaugural season. Rose was an Oklahoma City-born virtuoso violinist. He grew up in

Bayside, New York Bayside is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston to the east, Oakland Gardens to the south, and Fresh Meado ...

, studied with Michael Press, and at

Curtis Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin from the Old French ''curteis'' ( Modern French ''courtois'') which derived from the Spanish Cortés (of which Cortez is a variation) and the Portuguese and Ga ...

beginning at age 12, then at

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

. He then worked as a violinist in Dallas. During the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, under conductors

Victor Alessandro Victor Nicholas Alessandro (November 27, 1915 – November 27, 1976) was an American orchestral conductor. Conducting career In 1938, at age 22, he became conductor of the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra, an organization that he led from a WPA ...

and Guy Fraser Harrison (1894–1986), the Oklahoma Symphony attained national and international rank on several levels, helped by a regular series of radio broadcasts on the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. ra ...

and the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the State media, state-owned news network and International broadcasting, international radio broadcaster of the United States, United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international br ...

for American troops abroad. Conductor

Ainslee Cox Ainslee Cox (June 22, 1936, Big Spring, Texas – September 5, 1988, New York City) was an American conductor. A graduate of Westminster Choir College and the University of Texas at Austin, he was associate conductor of the American Symphony Orche ...

led the orchestra from 1974-1978. In 1988, when the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra was disbanded, Joel Alan Levine spearheaded the founding of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic with the help of individuals, corporations, and philanthropic institutions — culturally-minded civic leaders, the newly incorporated Oklahoma City Orchestra League, Inc., and grants from five major Oklahoma corporations (

Oklahoma Gas & Electric Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company (branded as OG+E or "O-G-and-E") is a regulated electric utility company that serves over 843,000 customers in Oklahoma and Arkansas, including 1.5 million people in the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. It is the ...

, Oklahoma Publishing Company,

Southwestern Bell Southwestern Bell Telephone Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. It does business as other d.b.a. names in its operating region, which includes Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and portions of Illinois. The company is cu ...

, Kerr McGee, and First Interstate Bank). Adding Levine's nine consecutive seasons as associate conductor of the Oklahoma City Symphony (from 1979 to 1987), and his -year tenure as music director and conductor of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, he led the orchestra for consecutive seasons, the longest of anyone in the City's history. In the 2017-2018 season,

Alexander Mickelthwate Alexander Mickelthwate (born 2 June 1970 in Frankfurt, West Germany) is a German-born conductor who is the current music director and principal conductor of Oklahoma City Philharmonic. Early life and education He is one of three sons in his fam ...

joined the orchestra as "music director designate" while he finished his term as music director of the

Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Its primary concert venue is the Centennial Concert Hall, and the orchestra also performs throughout the province of Manitoba. The WSO presents an average ...

. He became music director for the 2018 season, and in November Levine became "Music Director Emeritus", while continuing to work as the orchestra's archivist and historian. In September 2001, the OKC Philharmonic opened its season in the newly renovated

Civic Center Music Hall The Civic Center Music Hall is a performing arts center located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was constructed in 1937 as Municipal Auditorium and renamed in 1966. The facility includes the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre, the Freede Little ...

. The renovation was one of several

Metropolitan Area Projects Metropolitan Area Projects Plan (MAPS) is a multi-year, municipal capital improvement program, consisting of a number of projects, originally conceived in the 1990s in Oklahoma City by its then mayor Ron Norick. A MAPS program features several inte ...

(MAPS) and cost $52.2 million, resulting in a complete transformation of the performance chamber into the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theater. In addition to a complete interior renovation, the new music hall included a multistory atrium, improved acoustics and a hydraulic orchestra pit. The Philharmonic is the largest professional performing-arts organization in the state, in terms of budget and performers employed.

External links

Official website

Notes

{{Authority control American orchestras Culture of Oklahoma City Wikipedia requested audio of orchestras Musical groups established in 1924 Performing arts in Oklahoma Musical groups from Oklahoma 1924 establishments in Oklahoma

History

See also

External links

Notes