History

When the Modesto Symphony Orchestra (MSO) gave its first concert in 1931, Modesto

Modesto, California

Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....

 had a population of 17,000 and was the smallest town in the United States to have a symphony orchestra.

A letter sent to musicians in December of 1929 read:

We wish to organize an orchestra to be known as the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. With your cooperation and assistance, I believe we will be the only city of its size in the United Stated that can boast of having a symphony orchestra. We aim to give several concerts this winter and play the best there is in music."

In 1977, the MSO became a fully professional ensemble. Today, it consists of 75 - 85 professional musicians from the Central Valley and San Francisco Bay area, and is under the artistic direction of David Lockington

David Lockington

David Lockington is currently the music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony, a regional orchestra located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.. Lockington assumed this position in January 1999...

, who began his tenure in the September 2007 as the Orchestra’s eighth music director.