Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (DPO) is a fully professional musical group in Dayton, Ohio, formed in 1933. It is a member of the League of American Orchestras (LAO) and the Regional Orchestra Players' Association (ROPA), and presents programs mainly of classical music, but also occasionally performs world music, pops, jazz and rock-n-roll.
Between September and May each year, the orchestra performs about 9 full-orchestra concert series, 4 chamber orchestra series, 4 operas with the Dayton Opera, 3 light family concerts, 4 Young People's Concerts, 6 SuperPops series, and several concerts for special occasions.[1]
Recognition
The Dayton Philharmonic has received the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music seven times; and has gained special recognition for its educational and community outreach programs, serving 90,000 children in fourteen counties — more children than any other orchestra of their budget size in the United States.
History
The DPO has been housed in the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center since 2003. Prior to that, the orchestra played concerts at Montgomery County's Memorial Hall, the Dayton Convention Center, and the Victoria Theatre. The orchestra has been led by Musical Director Neal Gittleman since 1995.[2]
Conductors
- 1933-1975 - Paul Katz
- 1975-1987 - Charles Wendelken-Wilson
- 1987-1994 - Isaiah Jackson
- 1994-present - Neal Gittleman
Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra
The youth orchestra, originally founded as the "Training Orchestra", is an instructional orchestra with competitive auditions open to students in grades 9 to 12. The youth orchestra gives several performances a year and has occasionally featured presentations with professional entertainers such as Sesame Street's Bob McGrath. The youth orchestra rehearses weekly during the school year at the University of Dayton's Raymond L. Fitz Hall.
Conductors
- 1937-1941 - Paul Katz
- 1941-1968 - Marjorie Kline
- 1968-1976 - Jaroslav Holesovsky
- 1976-1978 - Ken Miller
- 1978-1995 - William J. Steinohrt
- 1995-1999 - Peter Ciaschini
- 2000-present - Patrick Reynolds
Dayton Philharmonic Youth Strings
The youth string orchestra is open for competitive audition for students of string instruments in grades 6 - 12. It was originally known as the Dayton Philharmonic Junior String Orchestra. The name was changed in 2011 to the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Strings.
Conductors
- 1982-1991 - William R. Scutt
- 1991-1998 - Xiao-Guang Zhu
- 1998-2009 - Karen Young
- 2009-present - Betsey Hofeldt
References
- ↑ "Dayton Philharmonic History". Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ↑ "Dayton Philharmonic Information". Retrieved 2009-05-25.