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Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
More than 55 Years of Great Music

• Sept. 21, 1949 – Charter for Jacksonville Symphony Association is approved by the Florida Circuit Court.
• Jan. 20, 1950 – A women’s group is formed to support the Symphony, later known as the Women’s Guild, known today as the Symphony Guild.
• March 8, 1950 – First performance of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra is held at the George Washington Auditorium, led by founding Music Director Van Lier Lanning. Ticket Price: $1.
• Sept. 3, 1952 – Dr. James Christian Pfohl is appointed music director.
• Jan. 5, 1959 – Symphony launches “The Magic of Music,” a 13-week educational television series on WJCT Channel 7 for Duval County Schools.
• Jan. 28, 1962 – John Canarina conducts first concert as music director.
• Sept. 16, 1962 – Jacksonville Civic Auditorium is dedicated. First permanent home for the Symphony. 
• Nov. 10, 1970 – Arthur Fiedler of the Boston Pops Orchestra conducts the Symphony’s opening concert, marking the JSO’s rebirth following a cancelled season. Later that season, comedian Jack Benny hams it up with the JSO in a benefit concert.
• April 21, 1971 – Willis Page is announced as the Symphony’s new music director.
• May 18-19, 1972 – The Symphony performs at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and Carnegie Hall in New York, premiering new works by Carlisle Floyd and Duke Ellington in celebration of Jacksonville’s sesquicentennial.
• Oct. 2, 1973 – WJCT Public Broadcasting begins to offer simultaneous broadcasts of the Symphony’s concerts on TY and radio.
• Sept. 15, 1984 – Roger Nierenberg is welcomed as the new music director. During his tenure, the Orchestra achieved dramatic growth and the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus was founded.
• Jan 4, 1989 – Luciano Pavarotti performs with the Symphony in front of a sell-out audience at the Jacksonville Coliseum.
• Jan 19, 1991 – The formation of the group Beaches Residents Actively Supporting the Symphony (BRASS) is announced.
• Feb. 13, 1991 – The first Starry Nights series is announced, featuring the Symphony performing with popular guest artists at Metropolitan Park.
• May 10, 1993 – The Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra (JSYO) is formed to provide continuing music education, training and performance opportunities for Jacksonville youth.
• May 23, 1995 – Cellist Yo-Yo Ma performs a farewell concert with the Symphony in the old Civic Auditorium hall.
• Feb. 8, 1997 – Violin virtuosi Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman perform with the Symphony in the new Jim and Jan Moran Theater at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts.
• April 26, 1997 – Robert E. Jacoby Symphony Hall inaugural concert features Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, conducted by Roger Nierenberg. This is the JSO’s first concert in its new home at the Times-Union Center.
• Jan 22, 1998 – The Symphony performs at Carnegie Hall in New York with soprano Frederica von Stade and baritone Thomas Hampson, premiering a new work by Richard Danielpour.
• May 11, 1999 – Fabio Mechetti is introduced as the Jacksonville Symphony’s new music director.
• Oct. 20, 1999 – Amelia Residents in Action for the Symphony (ARIAS) holds its inaugural event.
• February 26, 2000 – Symphony celebrates its Golden Anniversary with a week of special concerts, including the first-ever Fresh Ink Florida Composers’ Competition, now a biennial event.
• February 3, 2001– Led by Fabio Mechetti, the JSO produces its first grand opera with a performance of Puccini’s Tosca.
• March 16, 2001 – The Symphony performs the inaugural concert featuring the rebuilt Casavant pipe organ in Jacoby Symphony Hall. The JSO becomes the country’s first orchestra to install a historic pipe organ in a new concert hall.
• 2004-2005 Season – Project Ovation, an audience-building incentive, produces a 17% increase in ticket revenue. 
• November 10-12, 2005 – The JSA produces its first-ever commercial recording, featuring the Orchestra, Chorus, and the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus performing Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.
• April 19-21, 2007 – Jacksonville Symphony celebrates the tenth anniversary of Robert E. Jacoby Symphony Hall with performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection.”
• 2006-2007 Season – The community endorses an expanded sense of ownership for its orchestra, with donations of more than $1 million from individual contributors for the second consecutive year. Single-ticket sales and corporate sponsorships also surpass $1 million.