founding of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic

In 1988, when the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra was disbanded, Joel Alan Levine spearheaded the founding of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic with the help of individuals, corporations, and philanthropic institutions — culturally-minded civic leaders, the newly incorporated Oklahoma City Orchestra League, Inc., and grants from five major Oklahoma corporations ( Oklahoma Gas & Electric , Oklahoma Publishing Company , Southwestern Bell , Kerr McGee , and First Interstate Bank ). Adding Levine’s nine consecutive seasons as associate conductor of the Oklahoma City Symphony (from 1979 to 1987), and his thirty-eight-year tenure as music director and conductor of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, he led the orchestra for forty-seven consecutive seasons, the longest of anyone in the City’s history. In the 2017-2018 season, Alexander Mickelthwate joined the orchestra as “music director designate” while he finished his term as music director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra . He became music director for the 2018 season, and in November Levine became “Music Director Emeritus”, while continuing to work as the orchestra’s archivist and historian.