Oregon Symphony Quick Facts

• Music Director: Carlos Kalmar
• Principal Pops Conductor: Jeff Tyzik
• Laureate Associate Conductor: Norman Leyden
• Board of Directors’ Chair: Terrence R. Pancoast
• Interim Co-Presidents: Mary Crist, Janet Plummer
• Full-time Musicians: 76
• Concert Hall: Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
  Located at the corner of Broadway and Main in downtown Portland; Seats 2,776
• Budget Size: $14.7 million in 2011/12 - Audit Summary, Audited Financial Statements, or 990 form
• Annual Attendance: 225,000

From September through May each year, the Oregon Symphony presents a full range of concerts – in Portland, Salem and elsewhere. To see the latest information on our Portland concert calendar, click here.

• 36 Kinderkonzert performances in local host schools (Multnomah and Washington Counties)
• 20 Symphony Storytime visits (5 residencies in Multnomah and Washington county libraries)
• 60+ classroom visits by 15 volunteer docents in preparation of our annual Young People's Concert for grades 3-8

• 40 Concert Conversations (local on-air hosts offer talks with conductors and musicians about each program held in the concert hall one hour before every classical series concert)
• 40 Prelude performances (youth and community ensemble performances in the lobby before classical series concerts)
• 4 performances of our annual school-day Young People's Concert geared to students in grades 3-8
• Several times each season, large groups of middle- and high-school students attend closed rehearsals and take part in question-and-answer sessions with conductors or musicians, by special appointment

• 1896
  Founded as the Portland Symphony, making today's Oregon Symphony the oldest orchestra in the West and one of only six major orchestras established in America before 1900
• Oct. 30, 1896
  First concert performed, at the Marquam Grand Theatre, W.J. Kinross conducting
• 1918
  Civic Auditorium premiere
• 1955
  Salem series premiere
• Aug. 1967
  Name changed to Oregon Symphony to reflect increasing number of concerts played outside Portland and a commitment to serve the statewide and regional community
• Nov. 13, 1970
  Norman Leyden's first Pops concert; Leyden was named associate conductor in 1974
• Nov. 1977
  James DePreist's first concert; DePreist, then Quebec Symphony principal conductor, appeared as a guest conductor
• Sept. 1984
  Moved to renovated Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and elevated from part-time to full-time orchestra
• June 2, 1988
  Recorded theme music for The Cosby Show which aired on NBC Television throughout the 1988/89 season
• Sept. 1 & 3, 1992
  Made debut appearances at Hollywood Bowl by invitation of Los Angeles Philharmonic
• Nov. 1992
  Became only second major U.S. orchestra to do statewide young composers project
• June 1995
  Hosted 50th American Symphony Orchestra League Conference to launch its Centennial Celebration
• May 1996
  Became one of five American orchestras to participate in a unique audience development program, "The Magic of Music," funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
• Aug. 1996
  Launched an annual series of free local parks concerts and outreach/educational events funded through the Regional Arts and Culture Council by the City of Portland
• Feb. 2001
  First KinderKonzert, a concert series aimed specifically at kindergarteners, first and second graders, is held at Peninsula Elementary School
• May 2002
  Carlos Kalmar chosen to succeed retiring music director James DePreist, beginning with the 2003/04 season
• 2002/03 Season
  Community Music Partnerships debuts in Klamath Falls, OR
• 2002/03 Season
  Symphony Storytimes program debuts, becoming a nationally recognized partnership with public library systems
• Oct. 2005
  The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation pledges the single largest gift in the organization's history, a $6 million challenge grant designed to help expand the orchestra's donor base
• May 12, 2011
  The Oregon Symphony is one of seven orchestras from across North America invited to perform at New York's first Spring for Music Festival in Carnegie Hall, it's first East Coast performance ever
• Oct. 25, 2011
  Released "Music for a Time of War" CD on the Pentatone Classics Label. Recommended by Alex Ross of The New Yorker Magazine as one of the 10 exceptional classical CDs of 2011.
• Nov. 13, 2012
  Released "This England" CD on the Pentatone Classics Label

• 1918-1925
  Carl Denton
• 1925-1938
  Willem van Hoogstraten
• 1947-1949
  Werner Janssen
• 1949-1953
  James Sample
• 1955-1959
  Theodore Bloomfield
• 1959-1961
  Piero Bellugi
• 1962-1972
  Jacques Singer
• 1973-1980
  Lawrence Leighton Smith
• 1980-2003
  James DePreist
• 2003-present
  Carlos Kalmar