History

The Memphis Symphony Orchestra was established in its present form in 1960 as an outgrowth of the Memphis Sinfonietta, a chamber group

Chamber music

Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...

 formed eight years earlier under the direction of cellist Vincent DeFrank, with support from the Memphis Orchestral Society and the Memphis Arts Council.

Classical orchestras had existed in Memphis earlier, notably the Memphis Symphony Society, which was established in 1939 by Burnet C. Tuthill, head of the music department at Southwestern College

Rhodes University

Rhodes University is a public research university located in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, established in 1904. It is the province’s oldest university, and is one of the four universities in the province...

. That orchestra consisted largely of amateur musicians who offered four or five concerts each season for several years, but ceased to operate before the 1947-48 season.

Vincent DeFrank directed the Memphis Symphony Orchestra until 1984, when he retired and was replaced as musical director by Alan Balter. Balter retired in 1998 and was replaced by David Loebel, who directed the orchestra until 2010. In February 2010 Mei-Ann Chen

Mei-Ann Chen

Mei-Ann Chen is a Taiwanese American conductor currently serving as music director of the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. She has been described as "one of the most dynamic young conductors in America". Encouraged by her parents, Chen began playing violin and piano at a...

 was named music director beginning in the fall of 2010.

Musicians and programs

The Memphis Symphony has 36 full-time professional musicians.

The orchestra's members supplement the concert schedule and the orchestra's finances by providing contracted services that include mentoring

Mentoring

Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....

 of inner-city students, conducting corporate "leadership" programs, and offering performances in nontraditional venues. The orchestra's "Family Tunes & Tales" program offers free concerts for young children and their families at public libraries

Public library

A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...

 and Borders Books and Music stores. Kinderconcerts, offered in the schools for kindergarten through grade 2, send a pair of string musicians into a school to perform, demonstrate their instruments, play music games, and introduce basic musical concepts. MSO Ensemble Concerts are performances in schools for students in grades three through twelve, including strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. The Symphony also works with the Memphis City Schools

Memphis City Schools

Memphis City Schools is the school district operating public schools in the city of Memphis, Tennessee. Its headquarters are in the Francis E. Coe Administration Building...

 on a collaborative program called "Music, Math, Science and Technology," in which school subjects such as weather, geography, and history are explored through music. Mentoring of middle school

Middle school

Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

 students at the Soulsville Charter School began in the 2007-2008 school year.

Elvis' birthday

Concerts in honor of Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

's birthday are an annual feature of the Memphis Symphony's season.