Orchestra Profiles
Anchorage / Fairbanks / Des Moines / Duluth / Great Falls, Montana / New Mexico & Albuquerque / South Dakota / Vermont / Winston-Salem
Anchorage Symphony Orchestra and Anchorage Youth Symphony
ORP: October 2004
The Anchorage Symphony Orchestra predates Alaska's statehood, and 2006 marks the 60th anniversary of its formation by seventeen local musicians. Today, 80 volunteer musicians play in the ASO, many of them employed as teachers, accountants, attorneys and engineers in their 'other' lives. In the regular season, the ASO can be heard in a six-concert Classical Series, four Young People's concerts, and an annual Halloween Family performance. The orchestra also sponsors numerous educational and community programs, including projects that support Alaska-based artists and composers. Since 1999, Randall Craig Fleisher has conducted and served as the music director of the Anchorage Symphony.
A separate organization from the ASO, the Anchorage Youth Symphony was established in 1965. Over the years, the two ensembles have developed a collaborative relationship, and work together frequently. The full AYS performs three concerts each season, and annually forms a half-size, 40-member chamber orchestra for performances in smaller venues. Alaska native Linn Weeda is the AYS's conductor and music director.