Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra (GGFSO) is a community orchestra based in Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...

 that began operation in 1908. One of only eighteen American Orchestras to have surpassed their centennial year, the symphony employs local and regional musicians in performances of classical and modern symphonic music. It's mission - "to put excellence on stage."

Fourteen conductors have held the post of Music Director during the life of the symphony.
  • George Stout - 1908-1910
  • William Wellington Norton - 1911-1918
  • E.H. Wilcox 1918
  • Fred Biedelman
  • Knute Fraysaa thru 1930
  • John E. Howard - 1930 - 1933
  • Leo M. Haesle - 1933 - 1965
  • Bill Pond - 1965 - 1966
  • Thomas Facey - 1966-1971
  • Jack Miller - 1971-1983
  • John Deal - 1983 - 1994
  • Tim Rolek - 1995-2005
  • James Hannon - 2006-2009
  • Alexander Platt
    Alexander Platt
    Alexander Platt is an American symphony orchestra conductor. He is the Resident Conductor and Music Advisor for Chicago Opera Theater and is presently the Music Director for Maverick Concerts, the Wisconsin Philharmonic, the Marion Indiana Philharmonic, The La Crosse Symphony Orchestra and the...

     - 2010 - present


Famed composers brought their batons to Grand Forks: Ernst von Dohnanyi conducted in 1955 and Gunther Schuller in 1978. Yehudi Menuhin, the most notable soloist to appear in the symphony's history, performed in 1962.

Recent events with the symphony have included a two year residency from 2003-2005 by the Chiara String Quartet
Chiara String Quartet
The Chiara String Quartet is an internationally performing professional string quartet based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The group is the Quartet-in-residence at the School of Music in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is also the Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University...

; participation in 2009 with a consortium of American orchestras presenting the premier of Joseph Schwantner's "Chasing Light" made possible through a grant from Ford Motor Company; Celebrating the 100th anniversary season (one of only 18 American orchestras to achieve that milepost) with a season opening Beethoven 9 under the baton of Music Director, James Hannon; presenting the North American premiere of the "Temporal Variations for Oboe and Strings" by Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...

, featuring Philip McKenzie as soloist, conducted by Music Director Alexander Platt
Alexander Platt
Alexander Platt is an American symphony orchestra conductor. He is the Resident Conductor and Music Advisor for Chicago Opera Theater and is presently the Music Director for Maverick Concerts, the Wisconsin Philharmonic, the Marion Indiana Philharmonic, The La Crosse Symphony Orchestra and the...

; and another North American premiere of Britten, "Movements of a Clarinet Concerto" written for Benny Goodman but not completed by the composer. That performance on October 1, 2011 was by the orchestra's principal clarinetist, Douglas Monroe, conducted by Alexander Platt
Alexander Platt
Alexander Platt is an American symphony orchestra conductor. He is the Resident Conductor and Music Advisor for Chicago Opera Theater and is presently the Music Director for Maverick Concerts, the Wisconsin Philharmonic, the Marion Indiana Philharmonic, The La Crosse Symphony Orchestra and the...

.

The orchestra maintains close ties with arts patrons, the business community, local educators, and the University of North Dakota for its supporters, its audience, and its musicians.
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