Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia.The orchestra was founded in 1945, and played its first concert as the Atlanta Youth Symphony. Henry Sopkin was brought in as music director (he remained with the orchestra for twenty years) and the organization changed to its current name in 1947. It soon managed to attract well known soloists to play with it such as Isaac Stern and Glenn Gould.
In 1967, with the departure of Sopkin, Robert Shaw (founder of the Robert Shaw Chorale) was brought in as conductor, and a year later the orchestra turned full time. Shaw founded a choir specially for the orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
In 1978, the orchestra became the first to make a commercial digital recording, when it played Igor Stravinsky's Firebird suite and exceprts from Alexander Borodin's opera, Prince Igor.
In 1988, Yoel Levi became principal conductor. Under him, the orchestra played at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics. He became Music Director Emeritus in 2000, and was succeeded as principal conductor by Robert Spano.
