The South Carolina Philharmonic is an orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

 based in Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...

, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Performances are held at the Koger Center for the Arts

Koger Center for the Arts

The Koger Center for the Arts is an arts center located in Columbia, South Carolina, on the University of South Carolina campus. It was built in 1988, and has 2,256 saleable seats...

 in Columbia. The current concertmaster is Mary Lee Taylor Kinosian

Mary Lee Taylor Kinosian

Mary Lee Taylor Kinosian is the concertmaster of the South Carolina Philharmonic and assistant concertmaster of the Greenville Symphony. She is also the violinist and composer of the Upton Trio. She lives in Columbia, SC, with her husband, Paul Kinosian, and her daughters Catherine, Jessica, and...

. The orchestra was founded in 1963.

2007/8 season

The orchestra's 2007/2008 season consisted of seven performances from 22 September to 5 April. Seven guest conductors (candidates for the vacant position of music director) conducted the Philharmonic in concert.

• Steven Lipsitt (22 September 2007)
• Morihiko Nakahara (13 October 2007)
• Carolyn Kuan (11 November 2007)
• Sarah Hatsuko Hicks (19 January 2008)
• David Commanday (9 February 2008)
• Adam Flatt (15 March 2008)
• Miriam Burns (5 April 2008)

Music directors

• Morihiko Nakahara
  Morihiko Nakahara
  is a Japanese conductor.Born in Kagoshima, Japan, Nakahara is the Associate Conductor of the Spokane Symphony. Nakahara received a Master of Music degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Rodney Winther. In 1998 he...
  
   (2008–)
• Nicholas R.N. Smith (1993–2007)
• Dr. Einar W. Anderson (1982–1993)
• Dr. John Bauer (1980–1981)
• Arpad Darazs
  Arpad Darazs
  Arpad Darazs was a Hungarian-American music educator who was widely known as one of the few in the Western hemisphere as an authority on the Kodály method of choral instruction. Before he gained wide acclaim for his work at the University of South Carolina, he garnered acclaim with the success of...
  
   (1971–1980)
• Dr. Arthur M. Fraser (1964–1971)