The Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra is a performing community ensemble based in

Harford County, Maryland Harford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Wa ...

. The orchestra was founded in the late 1970s by Sheldon Bair as the Harford Community Orchestra, and changed its name to "The Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra" in 1982. The orchestra is an all-volunteer ensemble of about 70 musicians from many professions. The musicians rehearse together once a week. It performs a four concert series during the school year and one to two pop concerts in the summer. In addition to performing pieces composed by Bair himself, the orchestra has premiered many pieces, including two by Henry Cowell, and works by David Finko, Kile Smith, Gwyneth Walker, Sean O'Boyle, Theldon Myers, Sir

Malcolm Arnold Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English composer. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music f ...

, and others. The Symphony and its director, Sheldon Bair, are known for performing relatively obscure works of music by well-known composers. The Symphony also champions living composers and encourage those composers to attend their concerts. Guest artists hosted by the SSO include Alexander Skwortsow, the Edinburgh String Quartet, David Amram, the Penn State Choir and members of the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". T ...

and the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, ...

. During the 2007–2008 season the orchestra performed for Poland's independence day at St. Patrick's Cathedral in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Carnegie Hall

After working with the orchestra for their 2007 St. Patrick's concert, the orchestra was again invited to New York City by Polish conductor Jan Sporek. On October 18, 2009, the orchestra performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

as part of Sporek's 20th anniversary celebration.

David Dubal David Dubal (born Cleveland, Ohio) is an American pianist, teacher, author, lecturer, broadcaster, and painter. Musician and painter Dubal has given piano recitals and master classes worldwide, and has also judged international piano competitio ...

and

Olek Krupa Aleksander Krupa (born 18 March 1947), often credited as Olek Krupa, is a Polish-American actor, active in film and television roles and best known for playing villains and/or criminals, such as in ''Eraser'', '' Blue Streak'', '' Home Alone 3'' ...

hosted the event honoring Sporek's 20 years of artistic work in the United States.

References

External links

Official website
Musical groups established in 1978 Orchestras based in Maryland {{US-orchestra-stub