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The Virginia Symphony Orchestra, now recognized as one of the nation's leading regional symphony orchestras, has enriched the Hampton Roads region and enhanced the quality of life for its citizens for more than 85 years. In August 2000, the symphony was accepted into the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians, signaling its entrance into the “major league” of symphony orchestras. The path to reach this level of artistic achievement and professional recognition has been arduous for the symphony's community leadership, as well as for the musicians who led and played in the orchestra. Now, when the symphony has reached this milestone, the records documenting its development are being secured for historical purposes. The Virginia Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony League, in cooperation with the Old Dominion University Libraries, have established a process to preserve archival resources for scholarship about the symphony, its history, and its rise to national recognition. Through the joint efforts of the university library, the symphony's leadership, and members of the symphony league, organizational and musical records have been collected and organized and are being preserved for research in the ODU Library's Special Collections. Archives from the VSO and its historical antecedents are consolidated with records of the symphony league. A guide to the collection is available. In order to enrich this collection, the library undertook a series of oral history interviews with key musicians and local supporters of the symphony, people whose work on behalf of the orchestra has been instrumental during much or all of the last half century. Interviews were secured with board members from every period of the orchestra's existence from the mid-1950s forward. Members of the Symphony League and its historical antecedents were interviewed as well to chronicle the significant commitment and contributions of members of this group of supporters over time. Musicians with long tenure as members of the orchestra added their critical perspectives to the record with interviews. Audio and transcripts of the interviews are presented here. |
