Nashua Symphony Orchestra & Chorus's Friends

View All

Nashua Symphony Orchestra & Chorus's Groups

Classical Music

7 members

View All

Nashua Symphony Orchestra & Chorus's Page

Latest Activity

Profile Information

Hometown:: Nashua, NH

About Me:: The Nashua Symphony Association, founded in 1923, is the parent organization of the Nashua Symphony Orchestra and the 80-voice Nashua Symphony Chorus. Now preparing for its 85th Concert Season, the organization's mission remains "to enrich the quality of life in the Nashua region through professional performances of orchestral and choral music, and to contribute to the music education of all ages – throughout the state – through concerts and related activities."

At the NSA, we feel a profound connection to our mission, and recognize that these are changing times for the arts. As we look to our future, we find that there are several core values we all share:
• We're passionate in our belief that music can serve as a means for improving lives - building knowledge, fostering friendships, and bringing fulfillment.
• We believe all musicians should be treated with respect and dignity.
• We seek to validate individual experience, while valuing the communal joys uniquely attainable through live music.
• Our core purpose is to present great live music to the public in formats that reinforce these values.

The Nashua Symphony Orchestra, the state's oldest professional orchestra, has been led by a number of illustrious conductors over the years. Music Director and Principal Conductor Jonathan McPhee assumed the post on July 1, 2008.

Normally, the NSA performs a substantial and well-received concert season from September through May at the Edmund Keefe Auditorium in Nashua, the state’s largest concert hall (the Symphony Chorus will occasionally perform off-site as required by the repertoire). The ensemble is comprised of professional instrumentalists from southern New Hampshire and the Boston area.

Wholeheartedly dedicated to community music education, the Symphony has developed a multi-faceted outreach program—including

• “Concerts in the Schools” (traveling chamber music concerts which reach nearly 7,000 kids each spring);
• “Nashua Youth (h)EARS”a curriculum based series of assemblies culminating in an in-school NSO performance for all 6th-graders; and
• “The Ripple Effect” which involves high school students in the generation of new works of poetry, art, and music.

For the adult community, the NSA sponsors Concert Prelude dinners and annual Summer Sings under the auspices of the Nashua Symphony Chorus, as well as courses offered through the Rivier Institute for Senior Education (RISE).

The Nashua Symphony Chorus, founded in 1964, is a highly respected volunteer chorus committed to excellence in choral performance. Led by Director of Choral Activities Diane T. Cushing, the group numbers approximately eighty talented area

individuals and this year performs three concerts in conjunction with the Nashua Symphony Orchestra (including Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass).
The NSA strives to generate civic pride, serving as a cultural focal point for the citizens of greater Nashua, through which they can deepen their relationships to music, to the city, and to each other. By working together with the community, we can ensure that future generations will enjoy the kaleidoscopic pleasures and rich satisfactions of live music.
All of the decisions we make on a daily basis can be traced back to the core questions: Will it help us to build community through music? Will it help us bring people together? Will it support our vision of the Symphony Orchestra & Chorus as a positive force in the region?
Our efforts to Build Community through Music have inspired a renewed sense of commitment from our stakeholders. Since 2005, the NSA’s audiences have grown by 14%, at a time when audiences at similar organizations are shrinking. Individual giving is also up (+73%), as are foundation grants (+69%) and business partnerships (+32%). As we look to our future, we see an NSA that is strong and vibrant enough to serve as a model for other ensembles throughout the region, and the nation.

Favorite Music:: "Music is everything we listen to, with the intention of listening to music." - Luciana Berio, composer

Favorite Place to Take the Family:: Nashua Symphony concerts

Nashua Symphony Orchestra & Chorus's Blog

Chamber Music Concerts are a labor of love for me

By: Eric Valliere

I can remember very clearly the moment when I began to love chamber music. I was twenty-six with a master’s degree in composition under my belt, working as an intern for the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. Because I couldn’t afford tickets to many concerts, and since I was an ardent advocate of new music, I attended as many SFCMP rehearsals as I could get to. On this particular autumn day – if San Francisco can be said to have an autumn at all – I found myself in a b… Continue

Posted on September 15, 2008 at 12:07pm —