Founded as the Lexington Sinfonietta in 1995 by conductor Hisao Watanabe, the Lexington Symphony is a group of musicians from the Lexington, Massachusetts area. The Lexington Symphony performs a subscription series of Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon concerts each year in Lexington, including an April event linked to the town's historic heritage and Patriots' Day celebration. In 2012, to celebrate the town of Lexington's 300th anniversary, the orchestra premiered a work they commissioned from composer Sky Macklay called Dissolving Bands. The Lexington Symphony frequently features musicians from the local area in its performances, such as Lexington residents and teachers Magdalena Richter, violinist, Sarah Takagi, pianist, Epp Sonin, soprano, Paul Carlson, pianist, and Thomas Stumpf, pianist, as well as high school students, including participants in Project STEP. Other recent soloists include Irina Muresanu, Janna Baty, Gail Williams, Gale Fuller, Stefan Jackiw, and Jobey Wilson, Roger Tapping, and Stephanie Chase. Scheduled soloists include David Deveau and guest conductor Bruce Hangen. In 2010, Lexington Symphony collaborated with the Nashua Symphony Orchestra and Chorus for a performance of Symphony No. 8.
Community outreach
In 2009, the orchestra launched an interactive program for children called “Orchestrating Kids Through Classics” with a performance in Cary Hall in Lexington which was attended by third grade classes in the Lexington Public Schools. In 2011, the program expanded beyond Lexington to performances for elementary school students in Framingham, MA. The Lexington Symphony is a partner in Music Matters, a program organized by the Massachusetts Teacher’s Association and WCRB, which brings Lexington Symphony musicians to elementary schools throughout the Commonwealth. Members of the orchestra visit classes, demonstrate their instruments, and have the kids try it themselves. In addition, smaller ensembles from the orchestra perform community outreach performances throughout the year as the Lexington Symphony Chamber Players. Local performances have taken place at the Lexington Historical Society's Munroe and Buckman Taverns, Depot Square Gallery, SAGE at Temple Isaiah, the Arts Walk and Shopper's Night, and Fiske Elementary School. Performance venues outside Lexington include MIT, Tufts and Brandeis. The Chamber Players have collaborated with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in presentation of a lecture on early American instruments by Darcy Kuronen, the MFA's Curator of Musical Instruments, at Lexington's National Heritage Museum.
