To get a sense of how the orchestras of ICSOM are doing currently, we asked every orchestra’s delegate to provide a short blurb about what is happening of note in their orchestra. Charter members of ICSOM are denoted with *.
Alabama Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1997
Joined ICSOM: 1998 (the predecessor Birmingham Symphony was a member of ICSOM from 1975–1995)
AFM Local: 256-733
The Alabama Symphony is in the final month of a season that featured the performances of all nine Beethoven symphonies, and the initiation of two new outreach programs.
“The ASO Up Close” is a program that allows patrons to sit next to specific musicians in a dedicated rehearsal, in order to develop a deeper understanding of the rehearsal process.
“ASO On The Road” is a program that sends chamber ensembles from the orchestra to perform in such venues as hospitals and schools.
Both programs have been well received and successful.
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1945
Joined ICSOM: 1971
AFM Local: 148-462
For the remainder of the Atlanta Symphony’s 18-19 season, we are performing two more movies (Jaws and Casablanca) and a semi-staged version of Beethoven’s Fidelio, along with several other subscription and pops programs. 2019–20 marks the ASO’s gala 75th anniversary season, and Maestro Spano will conduct 12 subscriptions, with guests and Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles providing the rest of the classical conducting. In April, the ASO and chorus will return to Carnegie Hall with a performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. The master season ends with the complete Tristan und Isolde semi-staged over three nights. Other highlights of the season will be Mahler’s Eighth and Bruckner’s Fourth Symphonies.
*Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1916
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 40-543
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of women’s
suffrage in the U.S., the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Marin Alsop celebrate women in music in the 2019–20 season. Highlights include: world premieres by Lera Auerbach, Anna Clyne, and Reena Esmail; the BSO debuts of guest conductors Carolyn Kuan, Ruth Reinhardt, and Xian Zhang; and performances by Olga Kern, Viktoria Mullova, and Renée Fleming.
The 2019–20 season also includes a tribute to Beethoven that culminates in All Together: A Global Ode to Joy. This special project, launched in partnership with Carnegie Hall, sees Maestra Alsop leading performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on five continents with nine different orchestras. The BSO’s season-closing concerts feature a new translation of “Ode to Joy” by Baltimore-based rapper and musician Wordsmith.
*Boston Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1881
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 9-535
The Boston Symphony recently opened the Tanglewood Learning Institute (TLI), an adult educational initiative to be held in a multi-building complex newly completed on the Tanglewood grounds in Lenox, MA. This initiative will present not only music by members of the BSO, but also visual and the other performance arts and culture to TLI participants. From the performance side, the BSO’s recent recording of Shostakovich’s 4th and 11th Symphonies with Music Director Andris Nelsons received the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance—the third recording in the series to do so.
*Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Founded: 1934
Joined ICSOM: 1963
AFM Local: 92
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra has seen ticket-sales growth again this season amid some rather diverse programming. The orchestra enjoyed a successful tour of Florida in April, performing in five locations. We look forward to next season, celebrating 20 years of leadership under music director Joann Falletta.
Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1932
Joined ICSOM: 1999
AFM Local: 342
As part of Charlotte’s 250th anniversary, the CSO participated in the production of A People’s History of Charlotte, a video event that took place on the facade of the McColl Center in uptown Charlotte. Using 3D projection-mapping software, still images, video, and music, the story of Charlotte-Mecklenburg was told through the eyes of the people. The CSO recorded the score by Nkeiru Okoye used in this collaboration.
We were happy once again to host a ProAm event this year. The stage was so full of great people who love to play their instrument that we had to turn people away. We always welcome the company of our amateur colleagues, and it is exciting to meet them on our side of the stage. Next season one of our highlights will be our gala concert featuring Itzhak Perlman playing Mendelssohn. Not only are we looking forward to an excellent evening of events, we can’t wait to share the stage with such a fabulous artist.
Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra
Founded: 1954
Joined ICSOM: 1969
AFM Local: 10-208
The Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra concluded its 2018–2019 season in March with a gala concert honoring Renée Fleming’s 25 years of engagement with Lyric Opera of Chicago. The Lyric Orchestra looks forward to the upcoming season celebrating both Sir Andrew Davis’s 20th season as music director and a much-anticipated Ring Cycle in the spring. The Orchestra musicians also will continue their community outreach endeavors, such as performing at retirement homes and volunteering at the Chicago Food Depository.
*Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1891
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 10-208
Support from ICSOM for the musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was a key part in sustaining our fight for a contract that reflects the quality of our orchestra. The seven-week strike, the longest in the CSO’s history, came to an end as the musicians voted at the end of April to ratify a new five-year agreement. Primary issues included salary and retirement benefits, specifically the CSOA’s insistence on ending the Defined Benefit Pension Plan. Final details of the contract continue to be hammered out, and will soon appear in the Settlement Bulletin. Highlights of next season, besides the absence of picketing, include: five world premieres; a tour of Europe, including three performances in Vienna as part of the 150th anniversary season of the Musikverein; two performances at Carnegie Hall; and a cycle of all of Beethoven’s symphonies to celebrate his 250th birthday.
*Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1895
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 1
As the fifth-oldest US orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony celebrates its 125th anniversary season in 2019–2020. Highlights of the season include a gala weekend in January 2020 featuring soprano Renée Fleming, eight newly-commissioned compositions by US composers, and a recreation of the Vienna Akademie concert of 1808, that included the premieres of Beethoven’s Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the Fourth Piano Concerto, and the Choral Fantasy. Music Director Louis Langrée will close the season in May 2020 with a new work by composer Julia Adolphe and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3.
*The Cleveland Orchestra
Founded: 1918
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 4
The Cleveland Orchestra has just begun its second century of giving concerts in Cleveland and around the world. The orchestra has ongoing residencies in Miami and Vienna, as well as at Indiana University, and just completed a tour of China with Music Director Franz Welser-Möst. The CO Youth Orchestra is completing its 33rd season with a trip to Europe this Spring.
Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1989
Joined ICSOM: 1968 (joined as the Denver Symphony, then reformed as the CSO after bankruptcy proceedings in 1989)
AFM Local: 20-623
Coming off three straight years of financial stability and on course for a fourth, the Colorado Symphony is in the process of finding a new home. Summer programming highlights for the CSO include Andrea Boccelli, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Josh Groban, Weird Al Yankovic, Tenacious D, and OneRepublic at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater. The 2019–2020 season will highlight our Concertmaster Yumi Hwang-Williams celebrating her 20-year anniversary with the CSO.
Columbus Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1951
Joined ICSOM: 1990
AFM Local: 103
The Columbus Symphony’s 2019–20 Masterworks season will include an expansion of our popular festival concept programs. These combine music, art, educational, and other thematically related events, immersing patrons in each festival’s focus across multiple disciplines. There will be six: one American, two separate Russian programs, two celebrating Beethoven at 250, and a Chihuly Festival.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1900
Joined ICSOM: 1968
AFM Local: 72-147
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s 2019–20 season begins a new chapter in the artistic history of the organization with the arrival of Music Director Designate Fabio Luisi. Luisi’s five concerts during the year will include the Dallas premiere of Composer-in-Residence Julia Wolfe’s new orchestral composition, Richard Strauss’s Salome in-concert, the first DSO performance of Franz Schmidt’s The Book of Seven Seals and the launch of a new Brahms recording project. The DSO will also welcome Gemma New as principal guest conductor. New’s debut week coincides with the orchestra’s inaugural Women in Classical Music symposium, a four-day event that will spark conversation and dialogue on an issue of great importance in the field. In addition to the work on stage, the DSO has begun work in southern Dallas to bring free instruments and instrument education to children of that area, a comprehensive program in partnership with area schools and community organizations.
*Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1887
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 5
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is set to embark on a season-long centennial celebration of its historic home, Orchestra Hall. This acoustical gem was opened in October 1919 under then music director Ossip Gabrilowitsch, and many programs in 2019–2020 will feature repertoire performed during Orchestra Hall’s initial season. The DSO will also return to the Interlochen Center for the Arts this July for the first time since 2006. This five-day residency will feature a performance by the orchestra, as well as side-by-side opportunities, masterclasses, and individual training sessions led by DSO musicians. As its search for a new music director continues, the DSO is excited to welcome new and returning guest conductors throughout the season.
The Florida Orchestra
Founded: 1968
Joined ICSOM: 1987
AFM Local: 427-721
The musicians welcome Mark Cantrell, the new President and CEO of the Florida Orchestra, who comes to us from the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. We wish him much success in leading TFO to new artistic heights and growth towards major orchestra status.
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1957
Joined ICSOM: 2001
AFM Local: 72-147
The Fort Worth Symphony welcomed its new CEO Keith Cerny in January 2019. Robert Spano was welcomed as the new principal guest conductor starting March 2019. Music Director Miguel Harth-Bedoya will be ending his 20-year tenure in the summer of 2020, and the search is on for the next music director.
Grand Rapids Symphony
Founded: 1930
Joined ICSOM: 2013
AFM Local: 56
The 2019–20 season is the 90th Anniversary of the Grand Rapids Symphony. Helping to commemorate this milestone will be performances by Itzhak Perlman, Augustin Hadelich, and Olga Kern. Kirill Gerstein will be performing all of the Beethoven Piano Concertos over two evenings, and Ingrid Fliter will perform in the GRS debut of a new series, “The Pianists”.
Grant Park Orchestra
Founded: 1944
Joined ICSOM: 1977
AFM Local: 10-208
The Grant Park Music Festival season is fast approaching. We are proud to continue the long tradition of free classical concerts in Chicago. Our wonderful chorus, led by Christopher Bell, joins us this season for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, Vine’s Choral Symphony (No. 6), Kahane’s “emergency shelter intake form”, and Delius’s Mass of Life. Our season also features world premieres of two commissioned works, Roustom’s Turn to the World: A Whitman Cantata, and Garrop’s Shiva Dances. We are also performing symphonies by Tchaikovsky (No. 2), Beethoven (No. 8), Shostakovich (No. 1), Vaughan Williams (No. 2), Mozart (No. 38), and Dvořák (No. 7). The season also features several concerti and other orchestral works, a Broadway program, and a showing of The Wizard of Oz, with live soundtrack provided by the orchestra. Come join us for some wonderful concerts.
Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 2011
Joined ICSOM: 1967 (as the Honolulu Symphony)
AFM Local: 677
The Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, originally founded in 1900, is now in its seventh season as the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra with an eighth season on the horizon. Though the current HSO has a smaller footprint of total work than its predecessor, the orchestra still produces dynamic programming coupled with world-class guest conductors and soloists.
Houston Symphony
Founded: 1930
Joined ICSOM: 1965
AFM Local: 65-699
The Houston Symphony is closing this season with programs that include Rachmaninoff’s The Bells and Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle. 2019–2020 Opening Night will be conducted by Leonard Slatkin and feature Yefim Bronfman performing Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3. During the season we will play programs of all Stravinsky and all R. Strauss, and a two week Schumann Festival. Soloists throughout the season will include Danill Trifonov, Emanuel Ax, and Augustin Hadelich. We have just announced our new concertmaster, Yoonshin Song, who starts with us in May. Yoonshin comes to us from the Detroit Symphony.
*Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1930
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 3
The ISO is currently undertaking a large-scale reimagining of our Symphony on the Prairie summer series, as management looks to increase revenue by adding more performances and guest artists, generally expanding the season, although retaining the same number of orchestra weeks. Highlights from the 2019–20 season include a three-week Beethoven Festival in January, which will include the first five symphonies; the Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano; and five works commissioned by the ISO specifically for the festival. Three ISO musicians will also act as soloists in 2019–20, as Jennifer Christen plays the Strauss Oboe Concerto, Conrad Jones plays the Haydn Trumpet Concerto, and Austin Huntington is featured in the Beethoven Triple Concerto.
Jacksonville Symphony
Founded: 1949
Joined ICSOM: 1997
AFM Local: 444
The Jacksonville Symphony is currently in the midst of a search for a new President and CEO, whom we are hoping to have in place by the beginning of the 2019–2020 season. We have been invited to participate in the SHIFT festival of American Orchestras next season, and look forward to bringing our orchestra to Washington DC for the event in 2020.
Kansas City Symphony
Founded: 1982
Joined ICSOM: 1998 (the predecessor Kansas City Philharmonic was a member of ICSOM from 1966–1983)
AFM Local: 34-627
During the upcoming 2019–20 season the Kansas City Symphony will celebrate three important anniversaries—2020 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven, and the KCS will pay tribute with 10 concerts featuring the composer’s best known works.
Next year also marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Isaac Stern—the father of the symphony’s music director, Michael Stern—and 2019–20 also marks the 15th anniversary of Michael Stern’s tenure as music director.
Long-time and admired Executive Director Frank Byrne will step down in late July after many years of outstanding service and will be succeeded by Daniel Beckley, current vice-president and general manager of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra
Founded: 1978
Joined ICSOM: 1978
AFM Local: 161-710
The Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra recently celebrated its 40th season since organizing and establishing itself as the tenured opera, ballet, and theater orchestra of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Washington National Opera. Next season will include an additional WNO mainstage production and touring ballet companies from four countries.
*Los Angeles Philharmonic
Founded: 1919
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 47
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is celebrating its centennial season with 50 new commissions, performances conducted by all extant Music Directors, and three international tours. The LA Phil’s Youth Orchestra LA (YOLA) is celebrating 10 years since its foundation by Gustavo Dudamel.
Louisville Orchestra
Founded: 1937
Joined ICSOM: 1980
AFM Local: 11-637
The Louisville Orchestra’s 2019/2020 season opens with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, who was included, alongside Music Director Teddy Abrams, on the “19 FOR 19: ARTISTS TO WATCH” list by New York Classical Radio WQXR. The LO will continue its commitment to living composers in various programs including From the Diary of Anne Frank by Michael Tilson Thomas, which will be the culmination of a city-wide exhibition of the Violins of Hope. Other season highlights include Mahler 5, Verdi’s Requiem and three guest conductors who will make their LO debuts.
*Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Founded: 1880
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 802
The Metropolitan Opera’s new season opens on September 23 with Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, and November brings the Met premiere of Akhnaten, Philip Glass’s ode to ancient Egypt. Artist William Kentridge creates a new staging of Berg’s Wozzeck, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Met’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director. And in February 2020, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato headlines the Met premiere of Handel’s Agrippina. The season’s final new production spotlights Der Fliegende Holländer. The season also features 20 classic revivals—including Verdi’s Macbeth and Puccini’s Tosca. In May and June 2020, the MET Orchestra takes the stage of Carnegie Hall for three concerts with Nézet-Séguin and guest conductor Gianandrea Noseda, with works of Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Beethoven, and Strauss.
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1959
Joined ICSOM: 1970
AFM Local: 8
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra welcomes its new music director, Ken-David Masur, for his first season, beginning in September 2019. We look forward to an exciting year as we transition into our new home, Milwaukee Symphony Center, starting in September of 2020.
*Minnesota Orchestra
Founded: 1903
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 30-73
Highlights from the 2018–19 season include our live-in-concert recording project with celebrated rapper-singer-writer Dessa, a continuation of our Mahler recording cycle with the Seventh and Tenth Symphonies, and a season-long focus on 20th and 21st-century American music. During Sommerfest, we will continue to deepen our connection with the music and musicians from last summer’s tour to South Africa, as well as this season’s ongoing partnership with musicians from our first local Common Chords residency in North Minneapolis. We will also embark on a summer-long celebration of music from Latin America, concluding with a much-anticipated performance of Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos.
Nashville Symphony
Founded: 1946
Joined ICSOM: 2000 (the orchestra was also an ICSOM member from 1975–1977)
AFM Local: 257
The Nashville Symphony will complete its 2018–19 season with the release of its recording of Symphony No. 4 by Jonathan Leshnoff, written for and recorded with the Violins of Hope. The orchestra will also perform this piece along with Carmina Burana by Carl Orff at the League of American Orchestras annual convention in Nashville in early June. The 2019–20 season includes more recordings of new works by John Adams, Jennifer Higdon, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Brad Warnaar.
*National Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1931
Joined ICSOM: 1963
AFM Local: 161-710
For its 2019–20 season, the NSO will play 16 works it has never performed before, eight of which are by living composers, plus three co-commissioned works. We will record all nine Beethoven symphonies with our music director, Gianandrea Noseda, who will lead us in a performance at Lincoln Center in addition to an international tour of China and Japan.
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1922
Joined ICSOM: 1973
AFM Local: 16-248
The NJSO will conclude its classical subscription season in early June with a performance of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony. Late June and July will see five summer outdoor pops concerts, and the sixth-annual Edward T. Cone Foundation Composition Institute at Princeton University.
New York City Ballet Orchestra
Founded: 1948
Joined ICSOM: 1968
AFM Local: 802
In April, the NYC Ballet Orchestra began the Spring 2019 season. This season will include much of NYCB standard repertoire including Concerto DSCH (Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2), Tchaikovsky Suite No. 3, Barber Violin Concerto, and Copland’s Rodeo conducted by Music Director Andrew Litton. The season will also include the premiere of an orchestrated version of a piano composition written by Mark Dancigers, Bright, and conclude with Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
New York City Opera Orchestra
Founded: 1943
Joined ICSOM: 1970
AFM Local: 802
2018–19 has seen five productions, only one of which, Stonewall (to be performed in June), has a full (reduced) orchestra complement. The number of performances of this has been reduced from eight to five. The rest of the season’s productions have been with chamber players (one on a part) or string quartet or piano. Some have only included non-NYCO musicians.
The orchestra approved filing a grievance with local 802 against management for hiring non-NYCO members, and for failing to pay our orchestra’s 18-performance yearly minimum.
We are awaiting arbitration results.
*New York Philharmonic
Founded: 1842
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 802
In the 2019–20 season, the New York Philharmonic launches an ambitious commissioning project to mark the centennial of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote: Project 19 will feature world premieres composed by nineteen different women, representing both established and emerging voices. The Philharmonic also eagerly anticipates a spring tour to Europe, culminating in its appearance at the Mahler Festival 2020 in Amsterdam. The orchestra will perform Mahler’s first and second symphonies under Music Director Jaap van Zweden, and is the first American orchestra to appear at the festival.
North Carolina Symphony
Founded: 1932
Joined ICSOM: 1972
AFM Local: 500
The North Carolina Symphony is currently in contract negotiations. The NCS received a very generous gift for our endowment. After 2019–20 Grant Llewellyn will become MD Laureate, so the NCS will be looking for a new music director. Llewellyn’s final full season will include Mahler 5, Beethoven 9, and The Rite of Spring. Our Gala Concert guest artists will be Renée Fleming and Branford Marsalis.
Oregon Symphony
Founded: 1896
Joined ICSOM: 1971
AFM Local: 99
The Oregon Symphony is finishing up a season full of artistic creativity and vision. After the past two seasons’ wildly successful SoundSights and Sounds of Home projects, this season saw the latest installment, called SoundStories. These multi-event projects saw a wonderful collaboration of many creative genres, including video, art, and puppetry, and pushed the boundaries of how a symphony orchestra concert can be defined. We are in the midst of a very exciting search for our next music director, and next year’s season includes a wide variety of new and exciting projects, including the next installment of our ongoing Sounds project: the second iteration of SoundSights.
Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico
Founded: 1958
Joined ICSOM: 2003
AFM Local: 555
The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra faces great challenges and difficult times. The fiscal collapse of the government, the stagnation of the economy, the public debt, the loss of the population, and the actuarial deficit of the retirement systems all threaten the stability of the social environment of Puerto Rico. The high cost of energy, the loss of benefits, and the rise in taxes gradually degrade the quality of life of the inhabitants. All of these problems have been exacerbated by the impact of hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, from which the island has not fully recovered. (Note: see the Report on page 8.)
*The Philadelphia Orchestra
Founded: 1900
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 77
The Philadelphia Orchestra celebrates its 120th season beginning September 2019 and the eighth with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. We will be welcoming Erina Yashima, Assistant Conductor, and Lina Gonzalez-Granados, Conducting Fellow.
Phoenix Symphony
Founded: 1947
Joined ICSOM: 1974
AFM Local: 586
Fundraising for the Phoenix Symphony is centered around our Mind Over Music programs. Musicians are teaching STEM classes in elementary schools using music as a way of explaining all sorts of academic subjects. We continue to perform programs for Alzheimer’s patients, and to perform at homeless shelters and indigent rehab centers. We have improved ticket sales for classics and pops, and our board is larger and more involved than ever.
*Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1895
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 60-471
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is looking forward to another season with Music Director Manfred Honeck. A highlight for next season is our three-week tour to Europe in the fall.
*Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Founded: 1922
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 66
For the 2019–20 season, several concert programs by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra will feature a focus on local history. The RPO is commissioning a new work to honor Susan B. Anthony, social reformer and women’s rights activist, who played a pivotal role in the women’s suffrage movement. Anthony spent most of her life in Rochester. Also planned are concert performances of Virgil Thomson’s 1947 opera The Mother of Us All, which chronicles Anthony’s life and work.
*St. Louis Symphony
Founded: 1880
Joined ICSOM: 1962
AFM Local: 2-197
The 2019–2020 season will celebrate the 140th year of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and the beginning of Frenchman Stéphane Denève’s tenure as the new music director. St. Louis has strong and abiding connections to France, and Denève’s inaugural season will highlight this. With the richness, vibrancy, and interconnectedness of music from the two countries, the season will feature familiar works by Gershwin, Ravel, and Saint-Saëns alongside the newer voices of our generation, including Adams, Higdon, Puts, Kernis, and Connesson, among others. Several other larger works will be presented as well: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, and Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust in its entirety. Also exciting is that acclaimed pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet will be the artist in residence throughout the season.
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Founded: 1959
Joined ICSOM: 1984
AFM Local: 30-73
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra is looking forward to its 61st season and welcomes keyboardist and conductor Richard Eggar as well as composer and musical host Rob Kapilow as new Artistic Partners. Both make their official start in the 2019–2020 season.
San Antonio Symphony
Founded: 1939
Joined ICSOM: 1978 (the orchestra was also an ICSOM member from 1968–1970)
AFM Local: 23
After a hostile takeover attempt failed last season, the SAS concluded an executive director search and hired Corey Cowart. SAS also announced that the 2019–20 season would end our Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing’s tenure after ten seasons and he will be named Music Director Emeritus. We are beginning the music director search process.
San Diego Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1910
Joined ICSOM: 1974
AFM Local: 325
The San Diego Symphony welcomes its new music director, Rafael Payare, and prepares for the building of its new summer home, the Bayside Performance Park.
San Francisco Ballet Orchestra
Founded: 1975
Joined ICSOM: 1977
AFM Local: 6
In 2019, the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra celebrated the career of Executive Director Glenn McCoy, who is retiring after 32 years of service. We thank Glenn for his support of our orchestra, and his good work in helping to make the San Francisco Ballet one of the world’s premier arts organizations.
San Francisco Opera Orchestra
Founded: 1980
Joined ICSOM: 1983
AFM Local: 6
The San Francisco Opera Orchestra 2019 Summer Season features three conductors making their company debuts, with productions of Bizet’s Carmen, led by James Gaffigan, Handel’s Orlando, with Christopher Moulds on the podium, and Dvořák’s Rusalka, under the baton of Eun Sun Kim. This fall, Plácido Domingo makes a much anticipated return to the War Memorial Opera House in a special concert to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his first appearance with San Francisco Opera.
*San Francisco Symphony
Founded: 1911
Joined ICSOM: 1963
AFM Local: 6
The San Francisco Symphony had an exciting season, beginning with two concerts at Carnegie Hall to open its season. In November a new, progressive four-year contract was signed well before the expiration of the previous agreement. In December, Essa Pekka Salonen was named music director designate. He will begin his tenure in the 2020–21 season at the conclusion of Michael Tilson Thomas’s 25-year music directorship. The musicians are pleased to collaborate with the administration on a new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative.
Symphoria
Founded: 2012
Joined ICSOM: 1970 (as the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra)
AFM Local: 78
Symphoria looks forward to working with Pamela Murchison, who joins us as our first executive director on June 3, 2019. Highlights of our upcoming 2019–20 season include a Rachmaninoff festival featuring the four piano concertos and a performance of Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America with actors from Syracuse Stage.
Utah Symphony
Founded: 1940
Joined ICSOM: 1979
AFM Local: 104
The Utah Symphony highlighted its own musicians this season as soloists in all six of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. We are also celebrating local history with a commissioned work by Zhou Tian commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railway, and performances next season of Olivier Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux étoiles…, inspired by the landscapes of southern Utah. The 2019–20 season marks the Symphony’s 80th anniversary.
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Founded: 1920
Joined ICSOM: 2000
AFM Local: 125
The Virginia Symphony begins its 99th season this fall as we undertake a search for our next music director. We have just signed a contract that takes us through our centennial season. As we celebrate the achievements in our first century, we anticipate new artistic heights and better lives for the musicians in the century ahead. “Supporting the arts means supporting the artists!”
