Albany Symphony Orchestra

Professional symphony orchestra based in Albany, New York

The Albany Symphony Orchestra is a professional symphony orchestra based in Albany, New York. Founded in 1930 as the People's Orchestra of Albany by Italian born conductor John Carabella, the Albany Symphony is the oldest professional symphony orchestra based in New York's Capital District. The orchestra annually performs at venues such as the Palace Theatre in Albany and the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, NY. David Alan Miller has served as Music Director and Conductor of the orchestra since 1992. Former music directors have included John Carabella, Rudolf Thomas, Ole Windingstad, Edgar Curtis, Julius Hegyi, and Geoffrey Simon. Since the 1980s, the Albany Symphony has released more than 20 CDs, encompassing nearly 60 works, for New World Records, CRI Records, Albany Records, Argo, Naxos, and London/Decca. The orchestra won a Grammy Award in 2014 and in 2021 and was nominated for an award in 2020. The Albany Symphony is unique in its mission statement to perform new works by modern composers, thereby exposing audiences to a new generation of orchestral music.

Founded in 1930 as the People's Orchestra of Albany by Italian born conductor John Carabella, the Albany Symphony is the oldest professional symphony orchestra based in New York's Capital District. The Albany Symphony celebrated its 75th anniversary during the 2005/2006 season, which included solo appearances by cellist Yo Yo Ma, bassist Edgar Meyer, violinist Yura Lee, baritone Nathan Myers, violinist Colin Jacobsen, pianist Joel Fan, violinist Jonathan Gandelsman, clarinetist Susan Martula, pianist Findlay Cockrell, percussionist Colin Currie, flutist Paolo Bortolussi, pianist Yefim Bronfman, violinist Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg, and Frederic Lacroix. The orchestra was nominated in 2020 for a recording of Derek Bermel’s Migration Series for Jazz Ensemble and Orchestra in the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition category. Conductor David Alan Miller was also nominated that year along with Tessa Lark for a recording of Michael Torke's Sky, Concerto for Violin in the Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo category. In 2021, the orchestra won a second Grammy award in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category with a recording of Theofandis' Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra with soloist Richard O’Neill and with conductor David Alan Miller on the Albany Records label. The orchestra has won 26 awards from the American Society of Composers and Performers (ASCAP) for adventurous programming. ASCAP also awarded the orchestra the John S. Edwards Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music in 2013 and 2014.

In Hernan Diaz's 2022 Pulitzer Prize winning novel Trust, the Albany Symphony Orchestra is said to have been first endowed by the music loving wife of the novel's fictional billionaire.