“It all started in 1948 with a notice tacked onto the bulletin board outside Payne’s Music Store. ‘Please sign name and instrument if interested in forming a symphony orchestra,’ it read. The Greenville Symphony Orchestra was born,” writes Kaelyn Cassidy in Tuesday’s (3/29) Greenville News (SC). “Seventy-five years later, the symphony has had five conductors, countless performances and hundreds upon hundreds of performers…. The Greenville Symphony Orchestra performed for the first time on Dec. 6, 1948…. All the musicians were unpaid volunteers. [Peter Rickett, music director from 1956 to 1990] transformed the Greenville Symphony Orchestra from a volunteer symphony into a professional orchestra…. [Current Music Director Edvard] Tchivzhel continues to be an asset…. [During] the pandemic, the Greenville Symphony Orchestra had to adapt…. They introduced a virtual concert hall on YouTube, and performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at their first-ever virtual concert. In the 2020-2021 season they returned to the stage for a short season with 50% capacity and social distancing, and were able to return to full capacity in 2021-2022…. In 1961, the symphony performed its first ‘Pops’ concert…. They’ve played Beatles music before, and next season will be Harry Potter.” Included are details of the 2021-22 season.
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