History of the Guild

In August, 1982, twenty-five volunteers became the Maryland Symphony Orchestra Guild and elected Brenda Rosenthal its first president. The President of the Guild originally was the Vice President of the MSO Board. This was at the time the Symphony was developing its administrative structure and before the time the Guild established itself as a non-profit corporation.

The Guild’s first major responsibility was to sell subscriptions. The nine-week subscription campaign led by its original members was such a success that the ASOL recognized its achievement.

Brenda recalls the beginning in 1982. “When the Symphony first started, Guild volunteers were always on the run. Sandy Wantz and I worked 12 hour days for nine weeks to get the first season concerts scheduled. The program book, the season tickets and all the millions of details were done by the Guild. There was much excitement the first night as Barry Tuckwell waved his baton to a sold out audience. Thanks to our hard workers, every seat was filled. This was a first for Hagerstown Maryland Symphony Orchestra!” By selling out the season the Guild established a base of loyal subscribers over the years.

Because of the enormous success of first season, a matinee series on Sunday afternoons was added in the second season, which was the only way to accommodate the growing number of patrons. Also, during the second season, Symphony Saturdays was created to educate school children and we danced to the first MSO Ball, which was a successful fundraising event. The ball was called “Music Maestro Please” and was held at the Venice Inn.

The Guild has maintained its focus of supporting the orchestra, fundraising for the orchestra, and educational programs of the orchestra. Early on Guild members opened their homes and fed musicians, drove them to rehearsals, to concerts and to educational events. Guild member’s willingness to pitch in made an enormous difference in the development of the orchestra and the musician’s genial feeling toward this community.

As a special tribute to the Guild and in recognition of its outstanding service to the Orchestra, the MSO’s Board of Directors named the Concertmaster’s Chair, the MSO Guild Chair. Recently the new shell on stage for our orchestra performances at the Maryland Theatre has been designated the Maryland Symphony Orchestra Guild Shell. Guild members have committed to raising $100,000 to fund this shell.

Education has always been one of the main concerns of the Guild. In addition to Youth Education, the Adult Education program was developed in the early stages of the MSO. The Guild has sponsored Music 101,lectures by the Artistic Administrator and General Manager, LunchBreak, and Prelude educational sessions prior to the concerts throughout the 25 years.

The Guild continues to maintain its original purpose. The organization thrives because talented and dedicated members have invested so much energy and enthusiasm supporting the Maryland Symphony Orchestra.