The Canton Symphony Orchestra is an American

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

based in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...

. Founded in 1937, the orchestra made its first performance on February 16, 1938, under the direction of Richard Oppenheim. Louis Lane became its second music director in 1949. Gerhardt Zimmermann directed the orchestra from 1980 until his death in 2023. On June 2, 1974, the Canton Symphony Orchestra became a “metropolitan orchestra.”

History

The Canton Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1937 in

and became incorporated one year later in 1938. The symphony’s first conductor, Richard Oppenheim, was invited to form the orchestra and held auditions to select the orchestra’s first musicians. Each musician was paid for their services at the beginning, which was uncommon for community orchestras at the time. On February 16, 1938, the Canton Symphony Orchestra held its first concert at the City Auditorium for over 3,300 people. The program featured

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's ''Egmont Overture'',

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

's Symphony No. 94 in G major “Surprise,”

Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...

's ''Scheherazade'', and

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

's ''Marche Slave''. Exactly 75 years later, the Canton Symphony Orchestra performed this same program in celebration of its 75th year anniversary. On June 2, 1974, the Canton Symphony Orchestra achieved metropolitan status as it was no longer considered a community orchestra. The conductor of the time, Michael Charry, accomplished this by increasing their annual performances from seven to twenty-one, some of which were children's concerts. Charry also increased the annual budget and involved fourth and fifth grade students in their programming. In July 13, 2014, the Zimmermann Symphony Center opened, with the Canton Symphony Orchestra residing there. Before its construction, the administrative staff worked in a windowless office at the Canton Cultural Center for the Arts while the musicians prepared for concerts in the McKinley High School.

Music directors

* Richard Oppenheim (1937-1949) *

Louis Lane Louis Gardner Lane (December 25, 1923 – February 15, 2016) was an American conductor. Born in Eagle Pass, Texas, Lane studied composition with Kent Kennan at the University of Texas at Austin where he earned his bachelor's in music degree in 1 ...

(1949-1961) * Michael Charry (1961-1974) * Robert Marcellus (1971-1976) * Thomas Michalak (1976-1980) * Gerhardt Zimmermann (1980–2023)

References

External links

The Canton Symphony Orchestra's official websiteWorking History of Canton Symphony
Culture of Canton, Ohio Musical groups established in 1937 Orchestras based in Ohio Tourist attractions in Canton, Ohio 1937 establishments in Ohio {{US-orchestra-stub