History & Facts
The Louisville Orchestra was established in 1937, through the combined efforts of then Louisville mayor, Charles Farnsley and conductor, Robert Whitney, and has long since been hailed as the cornerstone of the Louisville arts community.
From its beginnings as a part-time ensemble known as the Louisville Philharmonic Society, the Louisville Orchestra has grown to become a major arts organization. Ten years after its origin, the Orchestra launched First Edition Recordings, becoming the first American orchestra to own a recording label. In 1953, the Orchestra received a Rockefeller grant of $500,000 to commission, record and premiere 20th century music by living composers, effectively placing the Louisville Orchestra on the international circuit and securing an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall.
Past Music Directors
Following Whitney’s retirement in 1967, successive Music Directors have included Jorge Mester (1967-1979); Akira Endo (1980-1982); Lawrence Leighton Smith (1983-1994); Max Bragado-Darman (1994-1998); and Uriel Segal (1998-2004), with Bob Bernhardt serving as Principal Pops Conductor for the past 25 seasons. In August of 2006, the Louisville Orchestra brought Jorge Mester back to Louisville, where he resides as the current Music Director. Jason Weinberger was named the Associate Conductor in the spring of 2007.
Orchestra Achievements
Through the years, the Orchestra has performed for prestigious events, including “A Festival of the Arts” at the White House, the Inter-American Music Festival at the Kennedy Center, “Great Orchestras of the World” at Carnegie Hall and a tour of Mexico City.
In 1981, the ensemble officially augmented to full-time status. In 2001, the Louisville Orchestra received the Leonard Bernstein Award for Excellence in Educational Programming, presented annually by ASCAP and the American Symphony Orchestra League (now known as the League of American Orchestras) to one orchestra in North America. Continuing its commitment to the music of our time, the Louisville Orchestra has earned nineteen ASCAP awards for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music. Most recently, the Orchestra was awarded large grants from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music and the National Endowment for the Arts, both for the purpose of producing, manufacturing and marketing the Orchestra’s historic First Edition Recordings collections. Three compact discs of world premiere performances dating from the 1950s have been released, with seventeen more to follow.
Chronology of the Louisville Orchestra
1818
The first official resident symphony orchestra is founded by the Society of St Cecilia.
1937
Robert Whitney is appointed conductor of the Louisville Orchestra.
1942
The Louisville Civic Orchestra becomes the Louisville Philharmonic Orchestra.
1944
The Womens’s Association of the Louisville Philharmonic Orchestra is formed. Still in existence today, this group is now known as the Association of the Louisville Orchestra.
1948
Charles Farnsley, Mayor of Louisville, insists the Orchestra begin commissioning new works from contemporary composers. He is called a “wide-eyed visionary.”
1950
William Schuman’s “Judith” is given its world premiere in Louisville. “Judith” is performed at Carnegie Hall by the Louisville Orchestra.
The Orchestra creates its own recording label, First Edition Records.
1959
The U.S. State Department selects Louisville and the Louisville Orchestra as a host for a seven-city tour by a delegation of Russian composers.
The Louisville Orchestra hosts Russian composers Shostakovich, Kabalevsky, Krennikov, Konstantin, Dankevich, and Amiroy.
1965
The Orchestra appears at “A Festival of the Arts” at the White House in Washington D.C.
1966
Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft conduct the Louisville Orchestra in concert at the Louisville Gardens with an audience of over 7,000.
1967
Robert Whitney retires and Jorge Mester is appointed as the 2nd Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra.
1971
Jorge Mester conducts the Orchestra at the Inter-American Music Festival at Washington’s Kennedy Center.
1979
Akiro Endo is appointed as Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra.
1981
The Louisville Orchestra takes its first international tour, June 21-July 5, performing 3 weeks of concerts in Mexico City.
1983
Lawrence Leighton-Smith is named Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra.
The Orchestra provides music for the gala celebrating the opening of the Kentucky Center for the Arts.
1987
The Louisville Orchestra produces “Sound Celebration”, a contemporary music festival featuring composers, critics and musicians from around the world.
1989
The Orchestra performs at Carnegie Hall as part of the “Great Orchestra of the World”.
1999
Uriel Segal becomes the Louisville Orchestra’s sixth Music Director.
2006
Jorge Mester is named Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra.
2010
Feature-length documentary film, ‘Music Makes A City’, released chronicling the founding years of the Louisville Orchestra (1937-1966).
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