History
The earliest glimmers of the Loudoun Symphony were seen in November of 1990 when the local papers reported an organizational meeting for any individuals in the community who were interested in forming an orchestra. The meeting was an interesting hodgepodge of different people with their own agendas--music teachers looking for students, parents of students who had moved into the area from school districts that had string programs, musicians who were tired of driving into the Washington metropolitan area to play, former musicians who would consider picking their instruments up again after many years, and even a few supporters who just liked the idea of having a hometown symphony. Several people at the meeting volunteered to recruit musicians and set up a location, and a single rehearsal was planned. The first rehearsal took place in December of 1990. The strange group of instruments (too many flutes and clarinets, not enough French horns or string basses) struggled its way through Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. At the end of the evening, the players were polled about their interest and the first real rehearsal was set for early January 1991. The Loudoun Community Orchestra was born. The LCO gave its inaugural concert on March 16, 1991, to nearly 1,000 people at Loudoun County High School. The program included Schubert's Unfinished Symphony, a brass ensemble, a violin concerto, selections by the String Workshop, and a presentation of Mozart's Symphony No. 35, "Haffner," by the Chamber Orchestra. The concert was followed by a public reception, now a custom cherished by our audiences.
The Symphony underwent tremendous artistic growth during its early years, thanks to the visionary leadership of its first music director, Jed Gaylin. Jed's success with the Loudoun Symphony and the other orchestra he directs, the Johns Hopkins Symphony in Baltimore, has propelled his career forward. In July 1997, Jed was named Music Director of the Bridgeton Symphony in New Jersey after an extensive search and guest concert where he was both the audience and orchestra favorite.
The 1997-98 season featured the four finalists in our Conductor Search, and Mark Allen McCoy was selected as our new Music Director. The 2008-09 season will be Mark's eleventh with the Loudoun Symphony, and we are thrilled to have his continued support, dedication and artistic leadership. During his tenure, we have increased the artistic quality of our performances, established the Loudoun Symphony Youth Orchestra, and expanded our educational outreach, becoming one of the premier arts organizations in Loudoun.
1991-92 was the first full season, following the schedule that we still employ. Four free concerts were presented in October, December, March, and May. The Loudoun Community Orchestra invited a different guest conductor to lead each of its four concerts that season, beginning in October with a presentation of Haydn's "Clock" Symphony, a Strauss waltz, and Bizet's "Carmen" Suite under the baton of Jed Gaylin, then a graduate student in conducting at Peabody Conservatory. In addition, the conductor of our Inaugural Concert returned for our December performance, a member of the National Symphony conducted in March, and the music director of a similar community ensemble from Washington, D.C., joined us for May.
During the summer of 1992, the players in the orchestra and the LCO's board of directors agreed to engage one of the guest conductors as a permanent music director, and Jed Gaylin was unanimously selected as Maestro.
After two seasons of increased community support and musical growth under Jed's baton, the LCO decided to strengthen its commitment to the three-tiered structure that was an integral part of the organization from the start. In 1994, the name of the organization was changed to The Loudoun Symphony Association, Inc., referred to as the Loudoun Symphony. The association is considered an umbrella organization under which the Loudoun Symphony, the Loudoun Symphony Youth Orchestra and the String Workshop all reside. Later that same year, the Symphony's long-range planning committee crafted a new mission statement that reflected both the internal restructuring and the Symphony's commitment to the community.
We could not exist without the community's financial support. The Symphony's first full concert season in 1991-92 cost just under $6,000. The 2008-09 season is projected to cost over $160,000. Through individual and corporate donations, ticket sales, and fund raisers, the Loudoun community has supported the funding of a professional Music Director in 1992, paid principal strings in 1994, paid professional staff 1995, and paid assistant principal strings in 1996. The Symphony continually strives to increase its artistic budget to attract the highest quality players for leadership positions in the string section and outstanding soloists.
Can the Symphony sustain the pace of growth that it has enjoyed over the past 18 years and realize its long-term goals? In order to continue the work we are doing, we depend on a partnership of individuals, businesses and government, all contributing to support classical music. Now that we are well established artistically, we believe that the next step is to spread the word about the symphony throughout the county and integrate our activities into the fabric of life in Loudoun. This will help the community partnership grow and allow us to continue our mission of improving the quality of life in Loudoun through classical music.
