In September 2001, the OKC Philharmonic opened its season in the newly renovated Civic Center Music Hall . The renovation was one of several Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) and cost $52.2 million, resulting in a complete transformation of the performance chamber into the Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theater. In addition…
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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…
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The Second Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1938 with Ralph Asher Rose, Jr. (1911–1984) conducting the inaugural season. Rose was an Oklahoma City-born virtuoso violinist. He grew up in Bayside, New York , studied with Michael Press , and at Curtis beginning at age 12, then at Juilliard .…
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As is the case with many American symphony orchestras, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic owes a degree of its heritage to two predecessor professional symphonic orchestras in the city, the first having been launched in 1924 as the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra. As a marker in history, the orchestra finished the…
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