Since its birth in the late 1930s, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has earned its place as one of the most renowned orchestras in the nation. With over 150 live shows annually, each performance delivers depth and mastery brought forth by the ASO's renowned Maestros and award-winning guest artists. The 2022-2023 season marks the 78th for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and guests can expect a historic and exciting year for classical music in Atlanta. In 2022, the Symphony welcomed its fifth-ever Music Director, Nathalie Stutzmann. Described as "a consummate rock star on the podium" by ArtsATL, Maestro Stutzmann is expected to usher in a new era of musical culture for the ASO and Atlanta as a whole. Stutzmann began her first season featuring 13 living composers, including Hilary Purrington, Tyshawn Sorey and Joel Thompson. In her first season, Stutzmann is also leading eight programs featuring the classical masters, including Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony," Brahms' "Third Symphony" and a two-week Bach celebration culminating in Bach's "St. Matthew Passion." For fans of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's returning and pop culture series, you won't want to miss highlights like the hit program Star Wars and More: The Music of John Williams or performances of Nobuo Uematsu's Final Fantasy soundtrack with a unique HD video multimedia experience.

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Concert

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra was originally founded by Anne Grace O'Callaghan in 1939 as the In-and-About High School Atlanta Symphony. As Supervisor of Music for Atlanta high schools, O'Callaghan started the passion project by recruiting the best high school players across the region. By 1943, Chicago Conductor Henry Sopkin had joined the ranks to lead the young musicians. The talented group's performances quickly drew the interest of patrons and investors, and by 1945 the Atlanta Music Club had offered Sopkin an eight-month contract to develop the Atlanta Youth Symphony. Finally, in 1947, the Youth Symphony dropped the "Youth" moniker and played their first concert as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra -- the start of decades to come as a world-renowned institution of classical music. Since then, ASO has traveled nationwide and internationally, been hosted by U.S. Presidents and won 27 Grammy Awards as of 2022 in Best Classical Album, Best Orchestral Performance, Best Choral Performance, and Best Opera Performance categories.