List of symphony orchestras in the United States
There were about 1,200 symphony orchestras in the United States as of 1998. Some U.S. orchestras maintain a full 52-week performing season, but most are small and have shorter seasons.[1] As of 2007, there were 117 U.S. orchestras with annual budgets of $2.5 million or more.[2]
Critics in the 1950s identified five American orchestras as the Big Five, those considered leaders in "musical excellence, calibre of musicianship, total contract weeks, weekly basic wages, recording guarantees, and paid vacations."[3] The five were the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Cleveland Orchestra. But the concept and the list are now outmoded. Music critics today include more orchestras on their lists of "top" American orchestras.[4]
Notable U.S. orchestras are listed here by state. Youth orchestras are listed in a separate list of youth orchestras in the United States. For orchestras in other countries, see list of symphony orchestras.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
- Arkansas Symphony Orchestra[2]
- South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra[5]
- Symphony of Northwest Arkansas
- Texarkana Symphony Orchestra
California
- California Symphony
- Fremont Symphony Orchestra
- Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra[2]
- Golden State Pops Orchestra
- Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
- Hollywood Chamber Orchestra
- Hollywood Studio Symphony
- Hollywood Symphony Orchestra
- Long Beach Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra[2]
- Los Angeles Philharmonic[2]
- Modesto Symphony Orchestra
- Monterey Symphony[2]
- New Century Chamber Orchestra
- New West Symphony[2]
- North State Symphony
- Oakland East Bay Symphony
- Pacific Symphony[2]
- Pasadena Symphony
- Peninsula Symphony
- Redwood Symphony
- Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra
- San Diego Symphony
- San Francisco Chamber Orchestra
- San Francisco Pops Orchestra
- San Francisco Symphony[2]
- Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Santa Cruz County Symphony
- Santa Rosa Symphony[2]
- Stockton Symphony
- Symphony Silicon Valley
- Thousand Oaks Philharmonic
- Valley Symphony Orchestra (LAVC)
Colorado
- Aspen Chamber Symphony[2]
- Colorado Springs Philharmonic
- Colorado Symphony Orchestra
- Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra[2]
- Fort Collins Symphony[2]
- Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra[2]
- Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Lamont Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Steamboat Symphony Orchestra[2]
Connecticut
- Hartford Symphony Orchestra[2]
- New Haven Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Stamford Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Yale Symphony Orchestra
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
- Florida Orchestra[2]
- Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Naples Philharmonic[2]
- New World Symphony Orchestra[2] (Miami)
- Ocala Symphony Orchestra (formerly Central Florida Symphony Orchestra)
- Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra
- Orlando Pops Orchestra
- Sarasota Orchestra[2] (formerly Florida West Coast Symphony)
- Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
- Belleville Philharmonic Society
- Champaign Urbana Symphony Orchestra
- Chicago Sinfonietta[2]
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Civic Orchestra of Chicago
- Elgin Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Grant Park Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra
- Lyric Opera of Chicago
- Music of the Baroque[2]
- Peoria Symphony Orchestra
- Quad City Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Rockford Symphony Orchestra
- Urbana Pops Orchestra
Indiana
- Carmel Symphony Orchestra
- Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra[2]
- Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra[2]
- Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Lafayette Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Marion Philharmonic Orchestra[2]
- Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
- Boston Baroque
- Boston Civic Symphony
- Boston Classical Orchestra
- Boston Modern Orchestra Project
- Boston Philharmonic Orchestra[2]
- Boston Pops Orchestra[2]
- Boston Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra
- Brockton Symphony Orchestra
- Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra
- Handel and Haydn Society[2]
- Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra
- Lexington Symphony
- Longwood Symphony Orchestra
- Melrose Symphony Orchestra
- New England Philharmonic
- New Philharmonia Orchestra of Massachusetts
- North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra
- Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston
- Springfield Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Waltham Symphony Orchestra
- Wellesley Symphony Orchestra
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
- Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra (Hattiesburg)
- North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra (Tupelo)
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
- New Mexico Philharmonic, Albuquerque[2]
- Santa Fe Community Orchestra
- Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
New York
- Albany Symphony Orchestra
- American Classical Orchestra
- American Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Astoria Symphony
- Brooklyn Philharmonic[2]
- Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra
- Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra[2]
- Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Ithaca
- Chamber Orchestra of New York
- Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
- The Little Orchestra Society
- Long Island Philharmonic[2]
- NBC Symphony Orchestra
- New York Philharmonic[2]
- New York Pops[2]
- New York Symphony Orchestra
- Orchestra of St. Luke's
- Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
- Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra[2]
- Westchester Philharmonic[2]
North Carolina
- Asheville Symphony Orchestra
- Greensboro Symphony Orchestra[2]
- North Carolina Symphony[2]
- Charlotte Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra[2]
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
- Allentown Symphony Orchestra
- Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
- Erie Philharmonic[2]
- Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Johnstown Symphony Orchestra
- Kennett Symphony of Chester County[2]
- Lancaster Symphony Orchestra
- Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic[2]
- Old York Road Symphony
- Orchestra 2001
- Philadelphia Orchestra[2]
- Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra
- Philly Pops
- Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra[2]
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
- Black Hills Symphony Orchestra, Rapid City
- South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Sioux Falls
Tennessee
Texas
- Austin Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Dallas Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Dallas Chamber Symphony
- El Paso Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra[2]
- Houston Symphony[2]
- River Oaks Chamber Orchestra
- San Antonio Symphony[2]
- Symphony of Southeast Texas[2]
- University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra
- Valley Symphony Orchestra
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
See also
References
- ↑ Catherine Wichterman, "The Orchestra Forum: A Discussion of Symphony Orchestras in the US", 1998 Annual Report (Andrew W. Mellon Foundation)
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 U.S. Symphony Orchestras and Their Music Directors, Information Please Database, 2007, Pearson Education, Inc.
- ↑ Robert R. Faulkiner, "Career Concerns and Mobility Motivations of Orchestra Musicians", The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Summer, 1973), p. 336. Archived at JSTOR. Retrieved 28 March 2012. Subscription required.
- ↑ Michael Walsh, Lee Griggs, James Shepherd, "Music: Which U.S. Orchestras Are Best?" Time, April 25, 1983. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
- ↑ League of American Orchestras, League of American Orchestras (Winter 2014). Sandla, Robert, ed. "2014 Member Directory: League of American Orchestras". Symphony. Number 1 (New York, NY: League of American Orchestras) 65 (1): 79. ISSN 0271-2687. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
- ↑ "Small Orchestra Organizations: Issues and Challenges" (PDF). Harmony. Symphony Orchestra Institute. 2001.
- ↑ Jennifer Guerra (August 10, 2010). "Teens rock out at the Jackson Symphony Orchestra". Michigan Radio.
- ↑ Zeke Jennings (October 9, 2012). "Once again, Jackson Symphony Orchestra showing willingness to take bold chances". All Michigan. MLive Media Group.