Our History

Now in its 59th season, Eugene Symphony is recognized as a cornerstone of the performing arts in Oregon’s southern Willamette Valley. Under the leadership of Music Director Francesco Lecce-Chong, the Eugene Symphony pursues its mission of enriching lives through the power of music by presenting annual classical, pops, and community engagement performances, regularly commissioning and premiering new American works, and disseminating its performances via radio broadcasts and recordings.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Eugene Symphony continues to serve its mission through reimaged concert experiences and programs. Approximately 25,000 people attend Eugene Symphony’s annual season performances—comprising the nine-concert Symphonic subscription series plus special non-subscription concerts with distinguished guest artists or family-oriented programming —at Eugene’s Hult Center for the Performing Arts. An additional 24,000 children, adults, and seniors take part in the Symphony’s annual music education and community engagement initiatives, including Youth Concerts for grades K–12; professional development programs for young musicians; free outdoor summer concerts in Eugene, Cottage Grove, and Roseburg; and pre-concert lectures for adults. Via its annual broadcast series on public radio KWAX, Eugene Symphony brings its full season of classical concerts to an additional region-wide audience of some 45,000 listeners each month.

From its inception, Eugene Symphony has been dedicated to providing its regional audiences with access to innovative, high-caliber classical music programming and has established a five-decade history of promoting contemporary American endeavors in the field. Under the past leadership of distinguished music directors Marin Alsop, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Giancarlo Guerrero, and Danail Rachev, Eugene Symphony has granted more than 25 world and/or West Coast premieres to American compositions, and commissioned seven new American works over the past ten years. Under the baton of Lecce-Chong, Eugene Symphony continues to build on its reputation for artistic excellence, regularly introducing new classical repertoire, programming in-depth explorations of major composers, collaborating with internationally renowned guest artists, and deepening its engagement with contemporary music by hosting annual residencies by leading American composers.

The Eugene Symphony is equally committed to making music accessible to people of all ages, backgrounds and means and to nurturing the next generation of artists and audiences that will support the future of the classical performing arts. The Symphony also collaborates with principals, teachers, and administrators in Eugene 4J School District, as well as more than 80 schools in the Douglas, Linn, and Benton counties educational service districts, to provide young people with access to cultural enrichment opportunities. Through its annual Youth Concerts, the Symphony serves more than 6,000 children and educators throughout a 75-mile radius from Eugene, and offers scholarships for any student unable to pay. In 2019/20, approximately 54% of students attending were admitted without cost. For middle- and high-school musicians, the Symphony offers its Encouraging Young Musicians to Achieve (EYMA) program, which places teaching artists directly into music classrooms for instruction, sectional coaching, and motivational speaking.

For adult audiences, the Eugene Symphony Guild Legacy Pre-Concert Talk offer free pre-concert discussion and performance programs designed to enrich patrons’ classical music knowledge and provide a more in-depth experience of the Symphony’s season programming. The Eugene Symphony also supports ongoing artistic development programs such as the Laura Avery Visiting Masters Program, which gives aspiring professional musicians in the Eugene-Springfield area opportunities to develop their skills through free master classes, workshops, and demonstrations by distinguished artists from Eugene Symphony’s season. Through its partnership with the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance, the Symphony also provides a number of access points for college students.

Learn more about Eugene Symphony’s history in this video from the 50th Anniversary Season!