The Philadelphia Orchestra

My first stop of my tour of Philadelphia’s music and art culture starts with the largest and perhaps the most prestigious art that is the Philadelphia Orchestra. I have always known that the Philadelphia Orchestra has been one of the most prestigious orchestras in the United States, but I was unaware of the sheer number of achievements it holds. The Philadelphia orchestra has been privileged to give World and American Premieres that have included Barber’s Violin Concerto, Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand,” Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring ("The Philadelphia Orchestra”). They also are a forerunner in keeping up with the technological times to meet with the demands of an ever-developing country. In 1925, The Philadelphia Orchestra was the first symphony to make an electrical recording, in 1929 on NBC it was the first orchestra to perform its own commercially sponsored radio broadcast, in 1937 it was the first orchestra to perform on a soundtrack of a feature film (Paramount’s The Big Broadcast of 1937), in 1948 on CBS it was the first orchestra to appear on a national television broadcast, and in 1997 it was the first orchestra to give a live cybercast of a concert on the internet. Today, the orchestra is one of a kind in allowing its fan base to download music directly off of their own music store’s website ("Kimmel Center”).

The Philadelphia Orchestra also has an impeccable touring history that includes many orchestra firsts. In 1936 they were the first American orchestra to perform a transcontinental tour, in 1949 they were the first American orchestra to perform in Europe after WWII in England, in 1973 they were the first orchestra to perform in the People’s Republic of China, and in 1999 they were the first American orchestra to perform in Vietnam. This past year, the Philadelphia orchestra continued its tradition with its annual European tour that stopped in 11 cities and seven countries that included Grafenegg, Dublin, Lucerne, Edinburg, Dresden, Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, Essen, London, and Paris ("Kimmel Center”).

                                      Map of the 1936 Transcontinental Tour

            

             The Kimmel Center has been the home of the orchestra’s regular season since 2001. Within the Kimmel Center there are two performance venues that include Verizon hall which seats 2,500 for full orchestra performances and the Perelman Theater which seats 650 for chamber concerts. The orchestra previously performed at the Academy of Music for 101 seasons. Every January the orchestra plays the Academy Anniversary Concert and Ball at the Academy of Music.

Dedicated to Community:

            The Philadelphia Orchestra can be commended for its efforts and dedication to provide education and enjoyment to local Philadelphians. The orchestra has been dedicated to teaching students since 1921 when Leopold Stokowski started concerts specifically for the enjoyment of children. Today, the orchestra offers a variety of concerts and opportunities for children of all ages to access the orchestra. These include “Sound all Around” for children ages 3-5, “Family concerts” for children ages 6-12, and “eZseatU” for full-time college students. The Billy Joel School Concert Program allows underserved populations better access to these concerts put on by the orchestra. To engage an older audience, the orchestra offers PreConcert Conversations that include a variety of luncheons and lectures with guest speakers before concerts. In the summer, along with its outdoor season at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, the orchestra provides free concerts in local neighborhoods (“The Philadelphia Orchestra”).

            Having gone to many of the concerts myself, I thought I would also mention the eZseatU. A normal floor ticket for the Philadelphia orchestra can range from 34-104 dollars. For a college student, or person of a lower SES, this can definitely deter someone away from wanting to see the orchestra because of the expense. However, with eZseatU I paid only 30 dollars for the entire season for a membership and each concert is less than 10 dollars. Two minutes before the concert starts all of the college students are let into the main floor and are allowed to fill all of the remaining seats. These seats are normally sold and their owners for the night just did not show! About four times during the orchestra season there are nights specifically for college students. These concerts are almost always sold out and its fantastic getting to see college students involved with the arts.

           

What it means to Temple:

The Philadelphia Orchestra also has a direct connection with Temple University. Many teachers from Temple play in the orchestra and include bassists John Hood, Robert Kesselman, Joe Conyers, cellists John Koen, Kathryn Picht-Read, violinists Marc Rovetti, Jonathan Beiler, Hirono Oka, Booker Rowe, Kim Fisher, Davyd Booth, Yumi Ninomiya Scott, Dimitri Levin, violist Che-hung Chen, percussionist Angela Zator Nelson, tubist Carol Jantsch, trombonists Nitzan Haroz, Matthew Vaughn, Blair Bollinger, trumpets David Bilger, Jeffrey Curnow, Robert Earley, horns Jennifer Montone, Jeffrey Lang, Jeffry Kirschen, Daniel Williams, Denise Tryon, Shelley Showers, bassoonists Daniel Matsukawa, Angela Anderson, clarinets Richard Woodhams, Peter Smith, flutes David Cramer, Loren Lind, Kazuo Tokito. As seen here, the students at Temple University are in great hands! Every instrumental group is represented from a teacher that plays in the Philadelphia Orchestra. Temple has an amazingly stacked music program!

Works Cited:

The philadelphia orchestra. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.philorch.org/history

Kimmel Center. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.kimmelcenter.org/resident/orchestra.php