Grand Rapids Symphony

The Grand Rapids Symphony is a regional orchestra located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. At the end of its 75th Anniversary Season, the Symphony made its debut in New York City’s Carnegie Hall on May 21, 2005. The Symphony has presented concerts throughout Michigan and is heard on broadcasts by WBLV. In 2003, the Symphony performed in Detroit’s Orchestra Hall as part of inaugural activities for the remodeled Max M. Fisher Music Center. In 2000, the orchestra toured Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. The orchestra performed at Ferris State University, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Lake Superior State University, Northern Michigan University and Michigan Technological University, where the Symphony was the premier entertainment for the grand opening of the Rozsa Center for Performing Arts. The Symphony also sponsors the Symphony Chorus, Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Chorus, Grand Rapids Youth Symphony and Classical Orchestra and provides the orchestra for performances by Opera Grand Rapids and the Grand Rapids Ballet Company. The music director is David Lockington and the associate conductor is John Varineau.
Each year the Grand Rapids Symphony collaborates with the local community to bridge cultures by presenting a concert titled “Symphony with Soul” featuring national and local African-American guest artists. A percentage of the proceeds from this event supports the Symphony’s “Young, Gifted & Black Scholarship Fund,” created in 2005 through a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The scholarship fund pays for instrument training for young African-American students in the Grand Rapids area.
==Concert Series==
The Grand Rapids Symphony presents eight concert series intended for young children through adults: 
* The Richard and Helen DeVos Classical Series
* Pops Series
* SymphonicBoom Series
* Rising Stars Series
* Coffee Classics
* Lollipop Concerts
* Family Series
==Conductors==
1930–1940 	Karl Wecker
1940–1942 	Thor Johnson
1942–1946 	Nicolai Malko
1946–1948 	Rudolph Ganz
1948–1954 	Jose Echaniz
1954–1958 	Désiré Defauw
1959–1964 	Robert Zeller
1964–1968 	Carl Karapetian
1968–1973 	Gregory Millar
1973–1979 	Theo Alcantara
1980–1985 	Semyon Bychkov
1986–1997 	Catherine Comet
1999–present	David Lockington
==Discography==
* 1993 David Ott Symphony No. 2 and Symphony No. 3, Catherine Comet, Conductor
* 1995 Donald Erb,” Three Concertos, featuring Richard Stoltzman, clarinet; Miriam Fried, violin; and Ava Ordman, trombone; Catherine Comet, Conductor
* 1995 Happy Holidays with the Grand Rapids Symphony, John Varineau, Conductor
* 1996 Grand Rapids Symphony Piano Pops with Rich Ridenour; John Varineau, Conductor
* 1997 Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 1 and Symphony No. 2, Catherine Comet, Conductor
* 1999 Grand Rapids Symphony Piano Pops II with Rich Ridenour; John Varineau, Conductor
* 2000 Aaron Copland, American Images, David Lockington, Conductor
* 2005 Live from Carnegie Hall! David Lockington, Conductor
* 2006 Invention and Alchemy, David Lockington, Conductor
* 2007 Adolphus Hailstork, Symphony No. 2 and No. Symphony 3
* 2008 "One of Us, Portrait of a Humble Healer" John Varineau, Conductor
==References==
==External links==
*Grand Rapids Symphony Official site
*Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Chorus
Category:American orchestras
Category:Culture of Grand Rapids, Michigan