Orchestra Profiles
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Mobile Symphony and Youth Orchestra
ORP: April 2009
The Mobile Symphony began in 1970 as an organization called Symphony Concerts of Mobile, which presented concerts in the city by ensembles on tour, including the Louisiana Philharmonic and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. After over 25 years of such an existence, the Symphony Board realized that the community's cultural and educational needs and goals required its own local orchestra. The current incarnation of the MSO was founded in 1997 with the priority of cultivating and employing local professional musicians. Soon enough, the Mobile Symphony expanded its educations programs and concert season with free outdoor performances and became the official orchestra of the Mobile Opera. In 2000, the MSO named its first Music Director, Scott Speck, who leads the orchestra today. The Mobile Symphony association also includes the Bay Area Strings Community Orchestra, an intergenerational performance ensemble.
The origins of a youth ensemble in Mobile trace back as far as 1955, but financial and administrative issues created a rocky history for the Mobile Youth Symphony until 2000, when it came under the auspices of the Mobile Symphony. The Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra now provides instrument instruction and performance experiences for 65 high school and middle school students from across the Mobile Bay area. The MSO's Preludes program and myriad other educational efforts serve as feeders for the Youth Orchestra.