Binghamton Philharmonic Overview

In 2007-2008, the Binghamton Philharmonic, Broome County’s only professional symphony orchestra, will present its 52nd season of live classical and pops concerts to thousands of residents of Broome and surrounding counties.  Its concerts also reach many music lovers throughout Central New York through broadcasts on WSKG Public Radio.  The Binghamton Philharmonic also provides its community with a wide variety of educational programs which help introduce younger generations to the joys of making and listening to music.
 
The Binghamton Philharmonic is led by its Music Director and Conductor, José-Luis Novo.  One of Spain’s most promising young conductors, Mr. Novo is also music director of the Annapolis Symphony and a member of the conducting faculty of the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, NC.  He has held conducting positions with the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops and was music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Oxford (Ohio) Chamber Orchestra, the Miami University Symphony Orchestra, as well as associate conductor of the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge (Colorado), and assistant conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain, and the Yale Symphony Orchestra.  He is also an active guest conductor having appeared recently with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Syracuse, Stamford and Abilene Symphonies.

The Binghamton Philharmonic was founded in 1956 as the Binghamton Symphony and Choral Society under the artistic leadership of the late Fritz Wallenberg.  The Binghamton Symphony was renamed the Binghamton Philharmonic in 1996 when it merged with the B.C. Pops.  The two organizations, each with a rich history of presenting live orchestral music, merged in order to better serve the music and arts education needs of Broome County.
 
Over the past fifty years the Binghamton Philharmonic has achieved a level of artistic excellence rare for a regional orchestra.  In addition to presenting the great masterworks of the classical repertoire, the orchestra has maintained a special commitment to the music of contemporary American composers, including the commissioning of several new works.  The Philharmonic’s classical concerts also feature internationally renowned guest artists as well as important emerging soloists destined to become the great masters of the twenty-first century.  The musical achievements of the Binghamton Philharmonic have been repeatedly recognized by grants from the New York State Council on the Arts.
 
But the Binghamton Philharmonic is about more than classical music.  Each season the Philharmonic Pops presents a series of entertaining concerts featuring guest artists from the worlds of jazz, Broadway and entertainment as well as popular classical “crossover” artists.
 
The Binghamton Philharmonic also provides a diverse selection of ensemble groups to area schools for performances and master classes.  The highlight of the Binghamton Philharmonic’s educational programming, however, is its annual Young People’s Concert, which entertains and educates over 2,000 school children every year.
 
The Binghamton Philharmonic performs locally at the Anderson Center at Binghamton University and the Forum in Downtown Binghamton.  The Binghamton Philharmonic also appears regularly at Pops on the Plaza and First Night Binghamton, both presented by Southern Tier Celebrates.