History of the St. Louis Civic Orchestra

For more than six decades, the St. Louis Civic Orchestra has been an important part of the metropolitan community. Strong leadership, talented and hard-working musicians, and the music-loving concertgoers have led us on this journey.

The orchestra began its rich musical history as an outgrowth of a string trio consisting of Mrs. Willett C. Magruder, Mrs. John H. Leach, and Mrs. Duane Wade, who played "just for fun" in Mrs. Magruder's home. Other musicians soon joined the trio, and under the direction of Rex Clark and Jerome Rosen, they gave their first concert at the Grace Church Parish House on April 20, 1949.

Two days later, there was a second performance that was given at Kirkwood High School. On April 26, the members established a formal organization and adopted the name Kirkwood Symphony Orchest ra. By 1951, the orchestra, under the able leadership of Laurent Torno as its conductor, had a roster of thirty-one musicians and was sponsored by thirty-one businesses (as well as many residents ) in Kirkwood.

From 2002-2006, the orchestra became the Clayton Symphony Orchestra, with an affiliation with the School District of Clayton. The concerts were at the Clayton High School Auditorium.

Throughout the history of the orchestra, there have been a number of excellent conductors and soloists. During those years, the orchestra has performed at a variety of locations, including sev eral west county churches, St. Louis Community College at Meramec Theater, "on the road" in the metro east, and summer pops concerts at the Kirkwood Park Amphitheater.

Now the SLCO is over 65 members strong. The William D. Purser Center at Logan College serves as our fabulous new home. We eagerly look forward to continuing our active part in the cultural and educational St. Louis community for many more years.

The St. Louis Civic Orchestra is a true civic orchestra of 75 amateur and professional musicians devoted to their musical avocation, the performance of traditional, holiday, and pops orchestral music. Its mission is to promote and preserve the world's greatest musical creations through live performances by exceptional musicians in the community.

As an oboist, Mr. Dolbashian was a member of the Hartford (Connecticut) Symphony Orchestra and the Hartford Symphony Woodwind Quintet for ten years. He also served as principal oboist of the Hartford Chamber Orchestra. He subsequently received a Master of Musical Arts Degree from Yale University, where he studied under Otto Werner-Mueller. Maestro Dolbashian received further training during several summer seasons at the Pierre Monteaux School of Conducting (directed by Maestro Charles Bruck) and at the Tanglewood Festival with renowned Maestros Leonard Bernstein, Andre Previn, and Seiji Ozawa. Director of Orchestras and Orchestra Conducting Studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia since 1985, Edward Dolbashian leads the University Philharmonic, which has won numerous awards and has received many invitations to perform locally, regionally, and nationally. In April of 2006, the University Philharmonic was invited to perform at the prestigious Music Educators National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mr. Dolbashian made his solo oboe debut in New York City in 1969. His first position on the podium was Conductor of the Holyoke Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts. In addition to his positions at the University of Missouri and with our orchestra, Mr. Dolbashian was the Music Director of the Alton (Illinois) Symphony from 1998 until 2009 and has been the Music Director of the Compton Heights Concert Band of St. Louis since 1998. He conducts over thirty concerts a year with a diverse range of musical styles and venues. He has collaborated with guest artists such as William Warfield, Philip Quint, David Halen, Xiang Gao, Doc Severinson, Peter Nero, and Arturo Sandoval. Googling Edward Dolbashian brings hits with an abundance of praise for the musical skill and dedication in our community.

Paul Huppert, newly appointed Concertmaster of St. Louis Civic Orchestra, began violin studies at the age of seven, moving rapidly through the Suzuki Violin Method. He began formal concert appearances as a recitalist and a soloist with orchestra at the age of nine. While a student at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Mr. Huppert was a recipient of the Emil Hermann Award in violin. He appeared as guest concertmaster and soloist with the Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra and was appointed Associate Concertmaster of the West Virginia Symphony. During this time, he was also a substitute in the violin section in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Since then, he has held the positions of Principal Second Violin (Fort Wayne Philharmonic), Concertmaster (Savannah Symphony), Associate Concertmaster (Charlotte (NC) Symphony), and Acting Concertmaster (Charlotte Symphony). In addition to solo and guest appearances throughout the United States, he has served as a section violinist with the Grant Park, Chautauqua, and Peninsula Festival Orchestras. Currently, Mr. Huppert serves as Principal Second Violin (Illinois Symphony Orchestra), Concertmaster (St. Louis Chamber Orchestra), and Associate Concertmaster (Bach at the Seminary Series). Mr. Huppert regularly performs with the Fox Theater Orchestra and Union Avenue Opera. He teaches in string programs in public schools in Webster Groves and University City. In 2006, Mr. Huppert (along with the help of Evangelical United Church of Christ in Webster Groves) started the Spectrum Music Series, which promotes chamber music performance in various locations across the metropolitan region. Paul Huppert is the owner of Noteworthy Music LLC (noteworthyonline.net), an entertainment, education, and chamber music promotion business launched in 2002. He is a business partner with Online Lesson Videos (onlinelessonvideos.com). Later this year, he will be launching an Internet-based, live violin teaching service (violinwhisperer.com).