| Grand Rapids Symphony | |
|---|---|
| Orchestra | |
 | |
| Founded | 1930 |
| Location | 300 Ottawa Ave. NW,Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Concert hall | DeVos Performance Hall |
| Music director | Marcelo Lehninger |
| Website | www |
TheGrand Rapids Symphony is a professional orchestra located inGrand Rapids,Michigan,USA.[1] Founded in 1930, the Symphony celebrated its 90th anniversary season in 2019-20. In 2006, its recordingInvention and Alchemy was nominated for Best Classical Crossover Album at the Grammy Awards.[2] The Grand Rapids Symphony presents more than 400 performances throughoutMichigan each year, reaching over 200,000 people, and is heard in West Michigan on broadcasts byWBLU-FM (88.9) and WBLV-FM (90.3). The organization also implements 18 educational and access programs that benefit over 80,000 Michigan residents.
Since 2016, the Grand Rapids Symphony's music director has beenMarcelo Lehninger.
In 2000, the orchestra toured northern Lower Michigan and to Michigan's Upper Peninsula with performances atFerris State University,Interlochen Center for the Arts,Lake Superior State University,Northern Michigan University andMichigan Technological University, where the Grand Rapids Symphony was the premier entertainment for the grand opening of Michigan Tech's $20 million Rozsa Center for Performing Arts, which opened in October 2000.[3] In 2003, the GRS performed in Detroit’sOrchestra Hall as part of inaugural activities for the remodeled Max M. Fisher Music Center. The orchestra celebrated its 75th anniversary season by making its debut in New York City'sCarnegie Hall on May 21, 2005.[4][5] The Grand Rapids Symphony was nominated in 2006 for aGrammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album for its recording,"Invention & Alchemy," featuring harpist and composer Deborah Henson-Conant. "Invention & Alchemy" also was recorded for a DVD, which has aired on PBS-TV in the United States.
In 2013, the GRS joined the ranks of theInternational Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM), one of five player conferences within theAmerican Federation of Musicians, representing the largest, professional orchestras in the United States.[6]
The Grand Rapids Symphony's previous music director,David Lockington, stepped down from the post in May 2015 to become music director laureate, the first in the Grand Rapids Symphony's history.[7] Associate conductor isJohn Varineau, who is in his 35th anniversary season with the Grand Rapids Symphony in 2019-20 as well as in his 32nd season as conductor of the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony.[8][9]Robert Bernhardt was named principal pops conductor in 2015.[10]
In June 2016, Brazilian-born conductorMarcelo Lehninger was named the 14th music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony. He had formerly served as music director of theNew West Symphony in Los Angeles, and associate conductor of theBoston Symphony Orchestra.[11]
The biennial Grand Rapids Bach Festival, which was launched in 1997 and is held in the spring every other year in Grand Rapids, is an official affiliate of the Grand Rapids Symphony. In March 2018,Julian Wachner was appointed Artistic Director.[12]
In 2018, Lehninger led the Grand Rapids Symphony, joined by the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, in the orchestra's second appearance in Carnegie Hall on April 20.[13][14] Brazilian pianistNelson Freire, who has performed previously in Carnegie Hall with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and theSt. Petersburg Philharmonic, was soloist in music including Brazilian composerHeitor Villa-Lobos'Momoprecoce for piano and orchestra, a work that had been performed only once previously in Carnegie Hall byEugene Ormandy and thePhiladelphia Orchestra in 1959.[15] In 2023 they performed alongside Grammy award winning R&B artistNe-Yo
The Grand Rapids Symphony also collaborates with Opera Grand Rapids and with Grand Rapids Ballet in live performances.[16]
Musical organizations that are part of the larger Grand Rapids Symphony include the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony and Classical Orchestra, both led by John Varineau; the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, a 140-voice, adult, volunteer chorus directed by Pearl Shangkuan; and the Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Chorus, co-directed by Sean and Leah Ivory.
The Grand Rapids Symphony collaborates with its local community to bridge cultures with an annual concert titled “Symphony with Soul” featuring national and local African-American guest artists. A percentage of the proceeds from this event supports the Grand Rapids Symphony's Mosaic Scholarship Fund” created in 2005 through a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The scholarship fund provides musical instruments and music lessons for young African-American and Latino students in the Grand Rapids area.
The Grand Rapids Symphony presents eight concert series annually during the fall and winter from September through May, and one concert series in the summer in July and August.
| 1930–1940 | Karl Wecker |
| 1940–1942 | Thor Johnson |
| 1942–1946 | Nicolai Malko |
| 1946–1948 | Rudolph Ganz |
| 1948–1954 | José Echániz |
| 1954–1958 | Désiré Defauw |
| 1959–1964 | Robert Zeller |
| 1964–1968 | Carl Karapetian |
| 1968–1973 | Gregory Millar |
| 1973–1979 | Theo Alcántara |
| 1980–1985 | Semyon Bychkov |
| 1986–1997 | Catherine Comet |
| 1999–2015 | David Lockington |
| 2016- | Marcelo Lehninger |
The Grand Rapids Symphony came to Carnegie Hall on Saturday night and brought a good part of the city with it.
the Grand Rapids Symphony, celebrated its 75th anniversary by renting out Carnegie Hall
Lockington is music director of The Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra
Associate conductor John Varineau led The Grand Rapids Symphony
Grand Rapids Symphony, Michigan's only professional ballet company
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