NorwalkSymphony.org
Title
Norwalk Symphony Orchestra
Description
OF THE NORWALK SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Norwalk Symphony Orchestra (NSO} was founded in January. 1939. From that year to approximately 1985, the Norwalk Symphony was primarily a community orchestra composed of volunteer musicians from the greater Norwalk region. In 1956, the Norwalk Youth Symphony was formed, and younger musicians from surrounding communities were frequently invited to be part of the orchestra. All rehearsals and performances were held in what is currently the Norwalk Concert Hall, formerly the WPA-era high school auditorium, and support for the organization came from the family and friends of the orchestra members.
The first Music Director of the Norwalk Symphony, Edward Kreiner, conducted the premier concert on May 9, 1939. A year later, the celebrated Ouinto Maganini, a Pulitzer prize winning composer and principal flute for the New York Symphony, began his 26-year tenure as the Orchestra’s Conductor and Music Director. Maestro Maganini had an enormous influence on the NSO and the community of Norwalk. He presented the Symphony’s first youth concerts and premiered several new compositions, including his own, successfully developing audience interest in newer music. Programming was quite varied and at times adventurous, and the orchestra began playing larger works such as Mahler symphonies and other classic repertoire. Guest soloists with the orchestra were drawn both from the local scene, as were artists that were developing their careers including Yo Yo Ma, ltzhak Pearlman and Emanuel Ax.
Following Maestro Maganini’s retirement in 1967, Dennis Russell Davis conducted the orchestra from 1969 to 1973, and was succeeded by Gilbert Levine from 1974 to 1980. During this period, the orchcslra’s artistic vision and musicianship developed greatly. The Music Director from 1980 to 2000 was Jesse Levine, who expanded the musical aspirations of the NSO as well as demanded an increasingly rigorous standard of performance from its musicians. Pops concerts, local touring concerts and children’s concerts were established, as well as the Quinto Maganini Award in Composition, a national competition for a world premier performed by the NSO during its regular season. This period also saw the profile of the musicians shift dramatically, to a fully paid professional orchestra.
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