Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
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The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra or JSO is an orchestra based in Jacksonville, Florida.
[edit] Concert hall
As one of a handful of American orchestras with its own dedicated concert hall, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra performs the majority of its programs in the internationally recognized Robert E. Jacoby Symphony Hall at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, the only true orchestra concert hall in Florida.
[edit] Artistic background
Founded in 1949, Jacksonville's symphony is one of Florida's longest-standing orchestras and hosted renowned artists such as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Arthur Fiedler, Victor Borge, Luciano Pavarotti, Kathleen Battle, Marilyn Horne, and Mstislav Rostropovich. The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra has performed twice at Carnegie Hall, most recently in 1998. Led by Fabio Mechetti since 1999, past music directors of the orchestra include Roger Nierenberg, Willis Page, John Canarina, James Christian Pfohl and founding director Van Lier Lanning.
The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra also reaches audiences in venues that vary from schools and senior citizen centers to stages throughout Florida and the Southeastern United States. Local listeners can hear weekly JSO broadcasts on WJCT FM, and in recent seasons, the JSO has reached a national audience with appearances on National Public Radio's Performance Today.
Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra reaches over 220,000 residents throughout Florida and the Southeastern United States and also sponsors the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra. In addition to last season's schedule of 129 concerts, Symphony musicians gave nearly 200 educational ensemble performances in schools and senior centers.
Current conductors are Fabio Mechetti, Michael Butterman, and Michael Krajewski.
