Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Fort Worth, Texas
. The orchestra performs at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in downtown Fort Worth. The FWSO also presents the Concerts In The Garden summer music festival at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden
.
(1965–72) and John Giordano
(1972–2000). Music Director Miguel Harth-Bedoya
joined the FWSO in 2000. President Ann Koonsman has provided leadership since 1980.
The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra moved to its current home, the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall, in 1998. As the principal resident company, the FWSO performs a broad range of symphonic and pops concerts from August through May. In addition to its own concert series, the Orchestra also collaborates with the Fort Worth Opera
, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
, Southwestern Seminary
Master Chorale. and the Children’s Education Program of Bass Performance Hall.
Concerts In The Garden, the orchestra's summer music festival, was launched in 1991 and takes place each June - July at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
. The orchestra performs at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in downtown Fort Worth. The FWSO also presents the Concerts In The Garden summer music festival at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden
Fort Worth Botanic Garden
The Fort Worth Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located at 3220 Botanic Garden Boulevard, Fort Worth, Texas. It is open daily; an admission fee is charged for the Conservatory and Japanese Garden...
.
History
The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1925 by Brooks Morris, its first music director and conductor. Sixty-eight musicians performed at the first concert on December 11, 1925, before an audience of approximately 4,000 at the First Baptist Church auditorium. The FWSO disbanded from 1943-57 because of World War II. Morris provided leadership once it became active again and served as music director until 1962. Musical direction was then provided by Rudolf Kruger and Ralph R. Guenther (1963–65), Ezra RachlinEzra Rachlin
Ezra Rachlin was an American conductor and pianist.Rachlin was born in Hollywood and first showed an interest in the piano at the age of three. He gave his first full-length recital at age five. The Rachlins moved to Germany to assist Ezra in his studies...
(1965–72) and John Giordano
John Giordano
John Read Giordano is an American orchestra conductor, professor of music, composer, and former concert saxophonist. He is Associate Professor of Music at Texas Christian University...
(1972–2000). Music Director Miguel Harth-Bedoya
Miguel Harth-Bedoya
Miguel Harth-Bedoya is a Peruvian conductor, currently Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra , a position he has held since 2000.He was born in Lima, Peru...
joined the FWSO in 2000. President Ann Koonsman has provided leadership since 1980.
The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra moved to its current home, the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall, in 1998. As the principal resident company, the FWSO performs a broad range of symphonic and pops concerts from August through May. In addition to its own concert series, the Orchestra also collaborates with the Fort Worth Opera
Fort Worth Opera
According to the company, Fort Worth Opera is the oldest, continually performing opera company in the state of Texas and among the oldest in the United States. While originally presenting operas one at a time over a fall/winter season, it changed to a "festival" format in 2007...
, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas and is hosted by Van Cliburn Foundation. It was created by Fort Worth area teachers in honor of Van Cliburn, who had won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition four years prior with Tchaikovsky's...
, Southwestern Seminary
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a private, non-profit institution of higher education, associated with the Southern Baptist Convention...
Master Chorale. and the Children’s Education Program of Bass Performance Hall.
Concerts In The Garden, the orchestra's summer music festival, was launched in 1991 and takes place each June - July at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
Leadership
Its leadership as of 2011 includes:- Amy Adkins, President
- Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Music Director
- Ron Spigelman, Principal Pops Conductor
- Andres Franco, Associate Conductor
- John Giordano, Conductor Emeritus
Recordings
The orchestra's most recent recordings, some of which are released on their own label, include:- Sentimiento Latino with Peruvian tenor Juan Diego FlórezJuan Diego FlórezJuan Diego Flórez is a Peruvian operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in bel canto operas. On June 4, 2007, he received his country's highest decoration, the Gran Cruz de la Orden del Sol del Perú....
(Decca) - Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E. MinorSymphony No. 5 (Tchaikovsky)The Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was composed between May and August 1888 and was first performed in St Petersburg at the Hall of Nobility on November 6 of that year with Tchaikovsky conducting. It is dedicated to Theodore Avé-Lallemant.-Structure:A typical...
, Opus 64 (Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra) - ProkofievSergei ProkofievSergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
's Peter and the WolfPeter and the WolfPeter and the Wolf , Op. 67, is a composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936 in the USSR. It is a children's story , spoken by a narrator accompanied by the orchestra....
featuring Michael YorkMichael York (actor)Michael York, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:York was born in Fulmer, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the son of Florence Edith May , a musician; and Joseph Gwynne Johnson, a Llandovery born Welsh ex-Royal Artillery British Army officer and executive with Marks and Spencer department stores...
as the narrator (Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra) - The Composers Voice, Volume I featuring the music of Gabriela Lena FrankGabriela Lena FrankGabriela Lena Frank is an American composer of contemporary classical music and pianist.- Biography :...
and Kevin PutsKevin PutsKevin Matthew Puts is an American composer.-Life:Puts studied composition and piano at the Eastman School of Music and Yale University, earning the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Eastman. Among his teachers were Samuel Adler, Jacob Druckman, David Lang, Christopher Rouse, Joseph Schwantner,...
(Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra) - INTI, Three Centuries of Peruvian Music (Filarmonika)
- Asleep At The Wheel with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra)