Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra facts for kids
The Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra is a group of talented musicians who play classical music in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They perform concerts mainly at the Embassy Theatre and the Auer Performance Hall at Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW). Their current leader, called the Music Director, is Andrew Constantine.
A Musical Journey: The Orchestra's History
The Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra started a long time ago, in 1944. Their very first concert was on October 18, 1944, at the Palace Theatre. The first person to lead the orchestra was Hans Schwieger. He was born in Germany. Under his direction, famous soloists like William Kapell and Yehudi Menuhin performed with the orchestra.
In 1948, Igor Buketoff became the orchestra's second music director. He held this important job for the longest time, until 1966. After him, other directors included James Sample (1967-1970) and Thomas Briccetti (1970-1977).
From 1978 to 1993, Ronald Ondrejka was the music director. During his time, the orchestra grew a lot. They also started working with the Fort Wayne Ballet more often.
Edvard Tchivzhel took over as music director in 1993. He led the orchestra until the 2007-08 season. For a short time, Jaime Laredo helped as an artistic advisor. Then, in July 2009, the English conductor Andrew Constantine became the new music director.
Since 1980, the orchestra has won five awards from ASCAP. These awards are for their interesting and new concert programs. The Fort Wayne Philharmonic also has a chorus, which is a group of singers. Its current director is Benjamin Rivera.
Sometimes, a smaller group of musicians from the Philharmonic plays summer concerts. These are called "Summer Symphony" concerts. They often happen at the Foellinger Theatre in Franke Park.
Music on Air and Disc
The orchestra has also made recordings. Edvard Tchivzhel and the orchestra recorded a CD. It included music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Richard Strauss. You can also hear some of their concerts on the radio station WBNI, 94.1 FM.
In 2018, the Philharmonic made another recording. This was during a live concert at the Auer Performance Hall at IPFW. This recording featured three pieces by the composer Walter Bricht.
Music Directors
- Hans Schwieger (1944–1948)
- Igor Buketoff (1948–1966)
- James Sample (1967–1970)
- Thomas Briccetti (1970–1977)
- Ronald Ondrejka (1978–1993)
- Edvard Tchivzhel (1993–2008)
- Andrew Constantine (2010–present)
