Mission statement "The mission of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera is to inspire, engage, and enrich the greater Chattanooga community through music and music education."
Chattanooga Symphony In 1896, a small group of musicians formed a group called the
Chattanooga Music Club, dedicating themselves to the creation of interest in the "beauties of art" in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The first president of the CMC, was
Frank L. Case, who was replaced by Howard Smith in 1899. The Chattanooga Music Club organized many different musical groups including The Mutual Benefits Club formed in 1909. The St. Cecelia Chorus created by a CMC member by the name of
Stella Weitzel. The MacDowell Club was founded by Mrs. Elizabeth Bettis, who was a bright pupil of Edward MacDowell. Another club founded was the Chattanooga Male Chorus which would later be called the Chattanooga Civic Chorus who was established by Dr. J Oscar Miller. In 1930, Stella Weitzel asked for monetary founding in sustaining a small group of talented musicians at the
University of Chattanooga. A small monetary donation was given to the group by the CMC which was eventually used in the founding of the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra. The Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was established because of an "enterprising group of young people", who were all looking for opportunities to play music with one another. The Chattanooga Symphony was established when Melvin Margolin, the director, commissioned both recent graduates and students from the local
Chattanooga High School, were join by a few adult musicians in town. Once these players were introduced and well-rehearsed, they gave the first concert of the Chattanooga Symphony, on November 5, 1933. In the same year, Dr. Arthur Plettner was recognized and appointed the Juilliard Professor of Music at the University of Chattanooga. In 1938, Dr. Plettner was elected to become the conductor of the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, and continued to fulfill his title for the next 11 years, resigning from the position of conductor in 1949. After the resignation of Dr. Plettner, there is little know about who was in charge of conducting between the years 1949 and 1955. In 1956,
Julius Hegyi, who was also a graduate of Juilliard, was elected as conductor of the orchestra. Julius Hegyi remained the conductor of the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra until 1956, when he resigned and relocated to
Williamstown, Massachusetts. Hegyi was replaced temporarily by a conductor known as Charles Gabor, until he was replaced by Richard Cornier who was the conductor until 1984. In 1985,
Vakntang Jordania, a native of the former Soviet Union, was elected as the conductor and artistic director. Nine candidates were interviewed during two year, but ultimately Kayoko Dan stood out to Maestro Bernhardt. Kayoko Dan made history when she became the first female conductor at the Chattanooga Symphony, along with the title of youngest. Ms. Dan began musical training at the age of three in
Japan After moving to the United States of America, Kayoko Dan continued her education and received a Bachelor in Music Education at the University of Texas. She continued to process in education to receive a Master in Music Education and soon after pursued a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from Arizona State University. After receiving her bachelor, master and doctorate, she worked as the assistant conductor of the
Phoenix Symphony and music director of
Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras. Kent Boyd was elected the first president of the Chattanooga Opera. While there was the occasional performance by the
Metropolitan Opera Co, the
Chicago Opera Company and other companies that were lesser known during the time, had made appearances in the Chattanooga area, there was no real support of the opera until the CSO was founded. The company gave its first performance in February 1943, a production of
Il Trovatore. The cast consisted primarily of local singers, but the Wolffs were well-connected in the opera world and attracted a number of renowned performers to Chattanooga as guest artists. Guest artists included
Beverly Sills,
Jon Vickers,
Norman Treigle,
Phyllis Curtin, and
Norman Scott. Madame Wolff died in 1955, which was a devastating blow to the music community, but Dr. Werner Wolff tried to carry on. He resigned and moved to Ruschlikon, Switzerland, in 1959. Dr. Wolff lived with friends in Switzerland until he died in 1960.
Merged organization The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera was the first combined professional resident symphony and opera company in the nation, merging in 1985. World-class Soviet director
Vakhtang Jordania was recruited to become the conductor and artistic director. He was succeeded in 1992 by
Robert Bernhardt. Bernhardt left the CSO directorship in April 2011. His successor is Kayoko Dan, who made her debut with the CSO in September 2011. Bernhardt has remained at the CSO as music director
emeritus and continues to reside in Chattanooga. == Chattanooga Youth Symphony (CYS) ==