Educating Students Music Discovery is now Link Up! In collaboration with Carnegie Hall, The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra is participating in Link Up – The Orchestra Rocks, a music education program provided by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, during the 2020-2021 season. Link Up is a hands-on music program for students in grades 3–5 that explores orchestral repertoire in the classroom while preparing students to sing and play recorders or string instruments from home in a culminating virtual LSO Link Up concert in May 2021. Music Discovery Experience We Need Your Help These are extraordinarily testing times for the performing arts. While the LSO's live performances will be limited in the coming season, we will have ongoing expenses. In addition to staff and office expenses, we intend to continue supporting our musicians and providing high-quality musical offerings for the Lancaster community. To plan and navigate the current and forthcoming challenges, we need your help more than ever. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift to our annual fund. Thank you for your continued and valuable support. Make a gift LSO Musicians At Home Over the last few months, we have released 16 episodes of LSO Musicians at Home. We hope you have enjoyed learning more about the incredible musicians of the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra. Rewatch some of your favorites or catch up on ones you may have missed by visiting our YouTube channel. Please consider making a contribution to help support our musicians during this time. Watch your favorites

Excellence

The core purpose of the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra is to enrich, entertain and educate the South-Central Pennsylvania community through unique live musical performances and to provide community engagement opportunities for students of all ages.

The LSO is engaging, building, and strengthening our community through imaginative and unique musical experiences.

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Education Programs

2020-2021 Concert Season

The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra’s 2020-2021 season will unfold differently from any season we’ve performed in the Orchestra’s 74-year history.

Throughout the pandemic, working with our musicians, staff, and Board of Directors, our philosophy focuses on ways the LSO can continue to create high-quality music for the Lancaster community to enjoy, despite many obstacles. We are approaching the 2020-2021 season in the same spirit to develop a framework that can adapt to changing conditions and build a path forward that allows the Orchestra to perform live concerts again, with the safety of musicians, staff, and audiences as our priority.

Unfortunately, for now, this means we will be moving forward without an in-person audience. Additionally, there will not be a subscription series during the upcoming season. Current subscribers’ seats will be held for the 2021-2022 season, and all ticket credits from canceled performances will be honored.

We set the stage this Summer with our weekly “LSO Musicians at Home” video series, to move forward with a virtual season, free for all Lancastrians to enjoy. Our current plan is to hold a series of “pop-up” concerts which will begin as live streams. As it becomes safe to invite audiences, we hope to start selling a limited number of tickets for patrons to listen in-person with safety protocols that exceed government guidelines. 

 
To launch our impromptu season, we will be releasing a week of music in partnership with the Penn Square Music Festival in a series titled “Harmonize Lancaster: A Virtual Music Collaboration.” We invite you to join us beginning September 21, at 6:00 PM by visiting our Facebook Page, YouTube Channel, or website. 
 
On Saturday, September 26, at 6:00 PM, we will publish our first live concert recording since the COVID-19 pandemic began, featuring seven of our incredible musicians in a performance of Beethoven’s Septet for Winds & Strings in E-flat Major. We have missed performing in person, mainly because musicians thrive through a sense of space and working off each other’s energy. Hopefully, this performance can bridge the gap between virtual and where we want to be as soon as it is safe – performing for a live audience. We hope you enjoy our upcoming virtual concerts, and we look forward to the day when we can once again share the restorative power of LIVE music.

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LSOvations

I am at a loss for words at how AWESOME the show was last night. I’ve never heard the nutcracker suite in a way like I did yesterday. I loved every minute of the show. Thank you so much for the tremendous program. My wife and I are considering season tickets now.

This concert was a very uplifting and fun experience. I would highly recommend this to everyone, young and old alike.

Wonderful concert!! We truly enjoyed the music selection and the quality.

Music itself is such a gift to our students who wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to play an instrument or to hear an orchestra. I’ve seen their progression through the middle and high school years and watched our alumni make friendships that will last a lifetime, and experience such incredible opportunities that will create not just memories but well-rounded, creative, and caring adults. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of our students, and what better way than through music?!