Support the Orchestra

For more than 80 years, live symphonic music has been one of the good things about life in Knoxville.

The KSO has the distinction of being the oldest continuing orchestra in the Southeast,
but its rise as an artistic force began in the early 20th Century when Bertha Walburn Clark first raised her baton. Since that time, the KSO has performed with world renowned artists, attracted accomplished music directors and offered free education programs to thousands of local students each year.

KSO programs include the following:

Our Music and Wellness program touches nearly 6,000 patients, staff, and visitors at area health care facilities each year.

Young People’s Concerts – continuing for over 65 years – reach 12,000 school children, many of whom would not experience an orchestra concert.

The Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra Association is comprised of 5 ensembles, totaling over 330 students.

In-school concerts, where musicians go directly into classrooms and auditoriums, bring music to over 4,000 students.

Musical Story Time programs present children’s literature in connection with classical music as string quartets use sound effects, excerpts of classical music, and hands-on music making to reach over 1,000 pre-school children and their families.

Masterclasses give students in the University of Tennessee School of Music and local high school music programs access to KSO and world-class guest artists serving hundreds of students each season.

KSO Community Concerts take the orchestra to outlying areas impacting 33,000 people who may never have the experience of hearing a first-class orchestra.

Support the Orchestra

Why are financial contributions so necessary? Providing the programs detailed above means full-time KSO musicians spend approximately 80% of their time in outreach endeavors on behalf of the Symphony. The costs involved in sending these professional musicians into area classrooms and hospitals are covered solely through grants and contributions. Unfortunately the demand for these programs far exceeds our ability to fully provide them. With your help, we can continue to carry on our mission.

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