The Amarillo Symphony was founded in 1924 as a 12-piece ensemble led by Miss Grace Hamilton. Within just eight years, the volunteer organization had swelled to 56 musicians. No longer could they perform in small homes around the burgeoning city, and no longer could the conductor be paid a meager salary of five dollars per week. Enthusiastic support attests that even at this early stage, the Symphony resonated with the spirit of the Panhandle and had become an important community institution.
The 1930s were a time of tremendous challenges for the Symphony, as financial hardships caused the musical leadership to change six times in one decade. In the world around the musicians, times were fraught with the Depression, dust storms, drought and numerous bankruptcies that choked the entire Panhandle.
By the end of the 1940s, the Symphony faced extinction for the second time in a decade, and the Board was seriously considering disbanding the Symphony altogether. New Music Director A. Clyde Roller and violinist Eddie Melin stepped forward to work with President Lee Bivins and many others to devise a plan to eliminate the deficit and improve the orchestra.
Dr. Roller became a pivotal figure in the dramatic artistic growth of this era, instituting auditions for all musicians. With a firm hand and a fine sense of humor at rehearsals, he raised the musical level to new heights. Mr. Melin became the Symphony’s executive director, implementing sound financial procedures and facilitating community outreach programs that focused on fundraising and educational programs. By the early 1960s, the orchestra musicians were being paid for the first time.
In 1969, the Symphony found itself mired in serious debt, and the Symphony Guild initiated a daring, innovative fundraising project – Action, Opus ’70. Grand Chairman Pete Gilvin, guest auctioneer and former Texas Governor John Connally and others auctioned of a spectacular array of unusual gifts – antique cars, trips around the world, a caboose donated by Santa Fe Railroad and more. The event retired the Symphony’s debt and netted $120,000, which was later put into a trust which has grown to nearly $5 million today, one of the largest endowments for an orchestra in a city the size of Amarillo.
The successes of the last 30 years are a stark contrast to the early struggles. Sold-out concerts and unflagging community support are now the norm. A dramatic new source of funds began in 1980, when Sybil B. Harrington provided a multimillion-dollar gift to both the Symphony and West Texas State University to split the costs for a resident string quartet. The Harrington String Quartet has since gone on to win the prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Now in its 25th year, the Quartet has performed to rave reviews in Chicago, New York and Houston; they also given well-received performances overseas. Every year the Quartet presents concerts in Amarillo and Canyon, while its members maintain their teaching responsibilities at WTAMU and a busy touring schedule.
In 1988, James Setapen came to Amarillo, where he quickly began ushering us into an unprecedented era of artistic and organizational expansion. In 2005, the Symphony made its debut in a world-class venue, the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts.
In February 2006, following a 22-month-long intensive search process, Kimbo Ishii-Eto was named the 16th conductor in the Symphony’s history. An internationally renowned conductor, Ishii-Eto also is a Resident Conductor with the Komische Oper Berlin.