San Antonio Symphony

Some members of the San Antonio Symphony warming up before their grand performance with Sarah Chang at The Majestic, March 2009.

The San Antonio Symphony presents a large and diverse selection of music on its concert schedule. The 2018–2019 season includes 14 different classical subscription programs (each performed twice), six Pops programs (also performed twice each), four different programs in a Young People's Concerts series (each performed between four and eight times), a Family Concert, a concert featuring the musical soundtrack with the screening of a major motion picture, community outreach programs, and others.[1] Many orchestral concerts feature performances by guest artists. The San Antonio Symphony also presents soloists in recital, open rehearsals, and an annual string-instrument master class by a visiting guest artist.

The 2018–2019 artistic staff of the San Antonio Symphony consists of Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Assistant Conductor Noam Aviel, Mastersingers Conductor John Silantien, and 72 full-time musicians. Christopher Wilkins holds the title of Music Director Emeritus. The orchestra musicians collectively belong to the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM), and virtually all individually are members of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). The San Antonio Mastersingers is a chorus that performs frequently with the symphony. Its members participate on a volunteer basisy. Each year the San Antonio Symphony are joined by the Philharmonic Orchestra of YOSA, Youth Orchestras of San Antonio, for a side-by-side concert.

The San Antonio Symphony's primary performance venue is the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in downtown San Antonio. It became the Symphony's home in 2014.

The Symphony Society of San Antonio manages operations of the San Antonio Symphony. As of January 2019, Kathleen Weir Vale is the board chair and Corey Cowart is the executive director.[2][3]

The organization is a member of the League of American Orchestras.

Standing ovation for San Antonio Symphony and violin virtuoso Midori Goto, Sep 28, 2007.

Orchestral music in San Antonio traces its beginnings to a series of four concerts by a 49-piece orchestra directed by German immigrant Carl Beck at the state Sängerfest in 1887. A performance of the Symphony No. 4 by Felix Mendelssohn in these concerts was the first of a complete symphony in the state of Texas. Beck again conducted a symphony orchestra when the Sängerfest returned to San Antonio in 1896. Beck was engaged as the director of the Beethoven Männerchor in San Antonio, then succeeded in that role by Carl Hahn in about 1904. Hahn worked with Anna Goodman Hertzberg, a leading local musician and arts patron, to create the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, which gave its first concert on May 18, 1905. The orchestra performed sporadically for the next several years but was revived in 1914 (as the "San Antonio Philharmonic") by a new conductor, Arthur Claassen. By 1916, the ensemble was again called the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra. By 1918 it was under the musical direction of Julien Paul Blitz. Concerts continued into the 1920s, but this organization appears ultimately to have foundered.

The present San Antonio Symphony, an organization independent of the aforementioned predecessors, was created in 1939 by Max Reiter, a German-Italian immigrant, who became its first Music Director. The group's early ambition is evidenced by the fact that the legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz was a guest artist during the first season. By 1943, the orchestra employed 75 professional musicians, and in the 1944–1945 season the organization's budget topped $100,000, making it one of only 19 "major" orchestras in the country at that time, and the only one in Texas. Unlike many orchestras, the San Antonio Symphony was able to continue operations through World War II—largely because the city's strong military presence helped bolster the local economy. Before his death in 1950, Reiter had started an Opera Festival, created an Opera Chorus, and brought nationwide attention to the orchestra, with world premieres by several important composers, guest appearances by world-class artists, and overall high musical quality.

Reiter was succeeded by Victor Alessandro, a native Texan. The Symphony continued to grow in scope, including the addition of Young People's Concerts. In 1969 the orchestra took up residence in the Theater for the Performing Arts (which would later be renamed the Lila Cockrell Theatre after a San Antonio mayor). In 1967 the orchestra made its first major-label recordings, for Mercury Records. Alessandro died in 1976. A complete chronological list of San Antonio Symphony Music Directors is shown below.

Financial difficulties forced the cancellation of much of the 1987–1988 season. During this time, the musicians formed and presented a concert series with their own organization, Orchestra San Antonio. Later, the 2003–2004 season would likewise be cancelled due to bankruptcy.

The 1990s were highlighted by recognition and acclaim for the San Antonio Symphony's creative and culturally diverse programming, culminating in awards by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), American Symphony Orchestra League (ASOL), the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), and the Knight Foundation.

Due to decisions made in the wake of recent financial difficulties, the San Antonio Symphony currently performs a shorter season and with a slightly smaller musician complement than in some previous years, but it continues to be highly regarded artistically.

In the early part of the 2006–2007 season, CEO David Green and the executive board chose not to renew Music Director Larry Rachleff's contract beyond the 2007–2008 season. This decision was opposed by a majority of the musicians and by many San Antonio Symphony supporters. In January 2008, Christopher Seaman was appointed Artistic Adviser, a "position . . . similar to that of an interim music director" for the 2008–2009 season.[4] Sebastian Lang-Lessing became the orchestra's eighth music director in 71 years with a concert on October 2, 2010.

From 1939 to 2017, the Symphony Society of San Antonio managed operations of the San Antonio Symphony. In 2017 operations were turned over to Symphonic Music for San Antonio, a nonprofit organization.[5][6] SMSA pulled out of this agreement in December 2017, leaving the organization in poor position, and in January 2018 it was announced the bulk of the symphony's remaining 2017–18 season would be cancelled.[7] With the help of a fundraising effort spearheaded by Kathleen Weir Vale, the remainder of the 2017–18 season was salvaged, and the Symphony Society returned as the governing body.[2]

Members of the San Antonio Symphony with Wikipedia articles include:

• 1971–1973: Robert L. Annis, clarinet
• Late 1940s: Franz Benteler, first violin (for one year)
• 1990–1993: Maximilian Dimoff, bass, assistant principal and principal
• 1950s: Charlotte Harris, cello
• 1948–1951: Julius Hegyi, violin, concertmaster
• 1952–1958: Eugene Lacritz, clarinet; Pops conductor 1951–1958
• 1952–1955: Eric Rosenblith, violin, concertmaster
• 1994–2007: Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio, violin, concertmaster
• 2008–2009: Elizabeth Schubert, second clarinet
• 1939–19??: Bill Sinkin, violin[11]
• 1985–1987: Mark Sparks, flute, principal
• 1959–1964: Daniel Stolper, oboe, principal
• 1963–1964: Donald Weilerstein, violin, concertmaster
• 1949?–1966?: Clifton Williams, horn and guest conductor

• The Majestic Theatre, San Antonio

• "Immigrant conductor founded symphony during war years." Allen, Paula. San Antonio Express-News, 27 March 2005.
• International Who's Who in Music and Musical Gazetteer, ed. César Saerchinger. New York: Current Literature Publishing Company, 1918.
• San Antonio Symphony, Season 07–08 (program book)
• "San Antonio Symphony Orchestra." Albrecht, Theodore. The Handbook of Texas Online
• Wolz, Larry. "Roots of Classical Music in Texas: The German Contribution." Chapter 5 of The Roots of Texas Music, ed. Lawrence Clayton and Joe W. Specht. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2003. ISBN 1-58544-221-6.

• San Antonio Symphony Official website