TSO Bio & Facts

The Tacoma Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has been a vital part of Tacoma’s cultural landscape for 60 years, and has operated as a professional symphony orchestra for the past fifteen.  As a leader in the arts community, the Tacoma Symphony attracts audiences of all ages, from all walks of life and with varied musical interests by presenting classical, pops, seasonal and educational repertoire. 

 The Tacoma Symphony Orchestra was established in 1946 with 30 volunteer musicians from the University of Puget Sound.  Today the TSO is Tacoma’s metropolitan professional symphony orchestra with eighty-plus members, an affiliated community chorus, a highly regarded Music Director and a full-time administrative staff of three.  Each year, the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra brings music into the lives of nearly 20,000 citizens throughout Pierce County and the Greater Puget Sound area.  Offering quality classical and contemporary orchestral performances, pre-concert lectures and an award-winning youth education program that reaches more than 50% of all Pierce County fifth-grade students each year, the Tacoma Symphony is a respected professional arts organization that helps define Tacoma and Pierce County as a community committed to the highest ideals; excellence in education, an exceptional quality of life, rich cultural traditions, inspiring natural surroundings and a thriving business community.

 Programmatically the Tacoma Symphony presents four classical concerts, three pops concerts including a holiday choral pops, Handel’s Messiah featuring its volunteer chorus, multiple in-school residencies and three days of educational concerts each season.  The Tacoma Symphony’s education program, Simply Symphonic, earns the accolades of educators who value the program’s integrated approach and quality presentation. 

Did You Know?

• The TSO’s 80 musicians are paid professionals who perform in other regional ensembles and as soloists, as well as teaching at academic institutions and privately.
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• The TSO begins rehearsing for a performance five days in advance and holds a maximum of four 150-minute rehearsals for each concert.
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• Every musician in the orchestra was chosen by audition.  During an audition, musician candidates are concealed behind a screen and perform a series of short musical excerpts for an audition committee that includes Music Director Harvey Felder and members of the orchestra.
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• When a position in the orchestra becomes vacant, the TSO advertises nationally for musicians, and may receive hundreds of applications from across the U.S.
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• The TSO was founded in 1946 with 30 musicians from the University of Puget Sound.
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• The TSO performed 18 concerts last season for a total audience of 15,000, including music from Mozart to Mancini to Ronnie Milsap!
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• The TSO’s Simply Symphonic program impacts 5,000 5^th Grade students, parents and teachers from throughout Pierce and the adjoining counties.
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• 2000-2010 marked the 15^th Anniversary of Music Director Harvey Felder’s first performance with the TSO.
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• The Tacoma Symphony Chorus consists of 60 volunteer singers, selected by audition, who rehearse together weekly.
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• Music Director Harvey Felder has been a conductor for the St. Louis and Milwaukee symphonies, and has guest-conducted the Chicago National, Baltimore, Atlanta, Seattle, Indianapolis, and Honolulu symphonies, among many others.  He describes his years with the TSO as “the most rewarding musical experience of my life.”
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