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The West Michigan Symphony (WMS) is a widely recognized professional orchestra and leader in West Michigan’s cultural community. The West Michigan Symphony (formerly the West Shore Symphony Orchestra) is a professional orchestra made up of 60 core professional musicians, performing at the Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts in Muskegon, Michigan. The current Music Director/Conductor is Scott Speck. The Orchestra performs 8 concerts annually (5 Masterworks and 3 Pops) many with guest artists, playing a variety of music. == History == Mr. A. M. Courtright, a Muskegon Heights teacher, and Mr. Palmer Quackenbush are credited with early pioneering efforts to provide Muskegon with a symphony orchestra. In November 1939 a musical group of 50 members presented its first concert with Mr. Quackenbush conducting and Mr. Courtright assisting. The group incorporated the following year and elected its first board of directors. Conductors have included Tauno Hannikainen, Hugo Kolberg, Wayne Dunlap, Lyman Starr, John Wheeler, Philip Greenberg, Murray Gross, and current Music Director Scott Speck who has held the position since 2002. Performances were initially held in area schools and in the late 1970s moved to the historic Frauenthal Theater. Built in 1929, the 1724 seat Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts underwent a $7.5 million renovation that restored it to its original Spanish Renaissance splendor while also creating a spacious modern lobby linking it with the adjacent 180 seat Beardsley Theatre. The Frauenthal Theater is praised by artists and audiences alike for its extraordinary beauty, excellent acoustics and broad sight lines. With the prime location of its performance hall in the Frauenthal at the intersection of downtown Muskegon’s Western Avenue and Third Street, WMS is proud to be a key player in this period of Renaissance that will bring a renewed vitality and life to the center of the city. Today WMS is composed of professional musicians of the highest caliber playing extremely challenging repertoire and presenting some of the world’s most talented guest artists. WMS performs eight subscription concerts (five classical and three pops) per season. May 15, 2013, WMS moved its offices into new headquarters on the second floor of the Russell Block Building at 360 W. Western Avenue, ushering in a new era of music making. The Block, an 1800 square-feet space adjacent to the offices, is an intimate concert and education space and a rental facility for weddings and special events. With flexible seating for up to 150, it features a lounge and dressing room area, small balcony, windows facing Muskegon Lake, and an outdoor deck made of recycled materials with green spaces. The Block allows WMS to increase its presence in downtown Muskegon by expanding its ticket operations on the first floor and presenting smaller concerts @The Block, welcoming artists in genres from classical, to cabaret, to alternative. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「West Michigan Symphony Orchestra」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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