Longview Symphony

History:

Since 1968, the Longview Symphony has provided live orchestral performances of classical music to audiences in Longview, TX.

Starting as an amateur group with a few conservatory-trained musicians volunteering their time, today the orchestra is composed entirely of professional musicians from Longview, the greater East Texas area, Shreveport, LA, and the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Fourteen members are on staff at area universities and colleges, others are music educators in primary and secondary schools and many teach lessons privately. Dr. Isidor Saslav, the concertmaster from 1999-2012,  served as concertmaster under the batons of Pablo Casals, Aaron Copland and Sir Neville Marriner.

Tonu Kalam joined the Longview Symphony as music director/conductor in 1988. This talented director commutes from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he is a tenured professor of music and conductor of the University of North Carolina Symphony. Also trained as a composer and pianist at Harvard University and the University of California at Berkeley, Kalam appears as guest conductor throughout the United States and Europe. He is a past President of the Conductors Guild, an international organization devoted to the art of conducting. In 2005, Kalam was officially declared an Honorary Texan by the Texas Legislature. Maestro Kalam follows early directors, James Snowden, Longview High School band director, and Dr. Frank Carrol, dean of music at Centenary College.

The Longview Symphony takes pride in sponsoring the Longview Area Youth Symphony Orchestra (LAYSO) and the Longview Area Preparatory Strings (LAPS) for school-age children. In 2003, the Guest Artist Master Classes were introduced and funded by Eastman Company. Each year, guest artists provide a teaching forum for area high school and college music students. Selected students play for the guest artist and receive instruction.

Bach's Lunches are a series of free, lunch-time concerts held at local churches. These concerts provide a break from routine making beautiful music available to everyone.