History

NEW YORK CITY SYMPHONY

Founded in 1926 through the inspiration of New York Municipal Court judge, the Honorable Leopold Prince, the New York City Symphony grew from a small neighborhood ensemble to a 110 member orchestra and in a few short years was presenting concerts throughout the city including performances at Carnegie Hall and the 1939 World’s Fair. In 1956 the orchestra became a fully professional ensemble and has since presented numerous concerts throughout the New York metropolitan area as well as concerts in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

In 1974 the NYC Symphony, with the support of the International Cultural Foundation (founded by Rev. Sun Myung Moon) and its new music director, Thomas Ludwig, began an extensive series of concerts at Lincoln Center, The New York Society for Ethical Culture and Columbia University. In 1980 the orchestra presented two complete performances of Handel’s “Messiah” at the Manhattan Center under the direction of Dr. Brian Saunders. Francesco Santelli was the orchestras’s director from 1982 to 1984.

In 1985 the New York City Symphony began its highly acclaimed concert series at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall under its current music director, David Eaton. The orchestra has also appeared under Mr. Eaton's direction at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, the Apollo Theater, The United Nations, the Manhattan Center, Merkin Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 1988, the orchestra made its first international tour that included four concerts in Japan and an appearance at the Olympic Arts Festival in Seoul, Korea. The orchestra also has performed at Gala performances for corporate organizations including the New York Stock Exchange, Paul Sorvino’s American Asthma Foundation and has appeared with the Metropolitan Repertory Ballet and the Universal Ballet Company at the Manhattan Center and Lincoln Center’s State Theater. The Olympic tour was sponsored in part by Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s International Cultural Foundation.

The NYC Symphony introduced New York audiences to the music of Academy Award winning composer Tan Dun (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) as the David Eaton and the orchestra presented four of Tan's works at Lincoln Center, including the world premiere performances of Tan’s Violin Concerto and his Third Symphony.

In its attempt to represent the diversity of its New York base, the orchestra has produced concerts in conjunction with various international embassies, consulates and cultural organizations including those of Venezuela, the People's Republic of China, Ukraine, Turkey, Taiwan, South Korea, the Uptown Chamber of Commerce and the Harlem Cultural and Scholarship Foundation. The orchestra has made numerous appearances at humanitarian and peace-related events including the World Cultural and Sports Festival in Washington, D.C., the inaugural concert of the International Peace Foundation in New York and the United Nations’ 10th Anniversary Commemorative Ceremony of the World Trade Tower attacks in 2011.

The orchestra’s chamber ensemble and brass choir have presented numerous concerts in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Connecticut and the Temple Recital Series in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1998 the NYC Chamber Ensemble appeared at the United Nations as part of the U.N.'s 50th Anniversary celebrating the founding of its Non-Governmental Organizations. The ensemble has made several subsequent appearances at the U.N. including a performance at the closing ceremonies of the 2012 United Nations’ Interfaith Week.

Gifted artists who have appeared with the orchestra include Michala Petri, William Warfield, Shlomo Mintz, Boris Belkin, Aaron Rosand, Kim Kashkashian, Nancy Allen, Robert White, Joseph Flummerfelt, Paul Sorvino, Philip Michael Thomas, Lee Hoiby, Oleh Krysa, Marco Granados, Yang Sook Lee, Vera Tsu, Yakov Kreisberg, Jamie Peterson, Mzuri Moyo, Alexander Mishnaevski, Ning Liang, Dmitri Yablonsky, Julian Milkis, Oxana Yablonskaya, Alhambra , David D’Or , Seiko Lee , Joseph and Anthony Paratori , Ky-mani Marley and Nathaniel Rosen.

Recent concerts included a return appearance to Harlem’s Apollo Theater as part of the annual Harlem Culture and Scholarship Fund Benefit concert. Mr. Eaton conducted excerpts from Halelu in the General Assembly of the United Nations on September 9, 2011 as part of the U.N.’s 9/11 Commemorative Program, and again in 2012 for the UN’s Interfaith Conference. In 2014 members of NYCS appeared on NBC’s Saturday Night Live with the Grammy Award-winning band, Imagine Dragons. On June 30, 2015 the orchestra returned to the United Nations for a concert celebrating the 70th anniversary of the UN’s founding. Members of the orchestra retuned to the U.N. in October 2015 to perform as part of the U.N./GHFS Awards banquet.