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Information About

Phoenix Symphony




Founded in 1947 when Phoenix had a population of less than 100,000, the orchestra began as an occasional group of musicians performing a handful of concerts each year. Today, the orchestra serves over 300,000 subscribers and ticketholders, offering 275 concerts and presentations in an annual season running from September to May.

Based in the 2,387-seat Phoenix Symphony Hall, the 75-member ensemble is Arizona’s only full-time, professional orchestra. The Phoenix Symphony operates on an annual budget of more than $9 million and is supported by ticket sales and private and corporate contributions, as well as by public funding provided through the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment For The Arts , and the City of Phoenix’s Office of Arts and Culture.

The symphony offers classical and pops concerts in downtown Phoenix as well as symphonic and community presentations in Scottsdale , Mesa , Prescott , and other locations throughout central Arizona. As part of its educational outreach, each season the symphony performs for more than 70,000 students in 275 schools. Guest artists have included Emanuel Ax , Andre Watts , Yo-Yo Ma , Isaac Stern , Plácido Domingo , and Itzhak Perlman . Doc Severinsen has been principal conductor of the pops orchestra since the 1983-84 season, and guest pops artists have included Marvin Hamlisch , Sandy Duncan , Bobby McFerrin , and Andrea Marcovicci .

Michael Christie (born Buffalo , New York , 1974) was named music director of the Phoenix Symphony in 2005.


MUSIC DIRECTORS

  • John Barnett (1947 - 1948)

  • Robert Lawrence (1949 - 1951)

  • Leslie Hodge (1952 - 1958)

  • Guy Taylor (1959 - 1968)

  • Philip Spurgeon (1969 - 1971)

  • Eduardo Mata (1972 - 1978)

  • Theo Alcantara (1978 - 1988)

  • James Sedares (1989 - 1995)

  • Hermann Michael (1997 - 2004)

  • Michael Christie (2005 - current)



EXTERNAL LINKS