Copyright 2000 by Carly Gartman

The orchestra now known as the New England Philharmonic evolved from a community string ensemble, the Mystic Valley Chamber Orchestra, which was founded by the violists Michael Perrault and Gervasio de Chaves in 1976. The group gave its inaugural performances in Arlington and Belmont in November 1977 under the direction of Charles Ellis, its first conductor and music director. Ellis continued on for three seasons, presenting four pairs of concerts each year in Boston and suburban venues. In 1978 Ellis commissioned the composer Stephen Savage to write a work for the orchestra, establishing the organization's commitment to new music which has continued to this day.

From 1980 to 1983 the orchestra was conducted by Allen Olsen and Kenneth Seitz. They continued the practice of regularly programming new music and presided over the ensemble's expansion from a string chamber orchestra to a full orchestra with winds, brass, and percussion, allowing it to explore new repertoire.

In 1983, Ronald Feldman, a cellist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, began his five-year tenure as music director. Under his direction, a number of important programs were instituted, foremost among them the appointment of Robert Kyr as the orchestra's first Composer in Residence in 1985. In addition to producing an annual commissioned work, the Composer in Residence was asked to conduct a Call for Scores competition and select works for performance by the orchestra from the compositions submitted each year, soon numbering in the hundreds.

In 1986 the orchestra took up residency at Framingham State College, repeating each concert program at the FSC campus and inaugurating a December Family Concert that featured the winner of a youth concerto competition sponsored by the college. This association continued for ten years.

By this time the organization had outgrown its local profile and its chamber orchestra origins. In 1987 it adopted the name New England Philharmonic to represent its expanded audience and aspirations. In 1988 the NEP received the ASCAP Award for Adventuresome Programming, a national recognition of its special commitment to new music. At the time it was the only orchestra of its size to have both a Composer in Residence and a Call for Scores program. The NEP has gone on to receive this award four more times.

Jeffrey Rink became the newly named orchestra's music director in 1988. Under his direction the NEP continued to grow in size, quality, and ambition, attracting as volunteer performers some of the area's best professional, nonprofessional, and student players. Highlights of the eight years that Jeffrey Rink led the orchestra included well-received collaborations with other arts organizations from the Underground Railway Theater to Chorus Pro Musica, a number of appearances to full houses at Boston's First Night celebrations, and the local or world premieres of close to thirty works by contemporary composers. The Composer in Residence program continued to flourish with the appointment of two distinguished local composers, Richard Cornell from 1989 to 1993, and Marjorie Merrymanfrom 1994 to 97. The orchestra received further recognition of its unique programming mission in the form of one of the first grants awarded by the newly established Aaron Copland Fund for Music in 1993, as well as support from the Virgil Thomson Foundation.

In the 1996-97 season, the NEP carried its mission into the future with the establishment of a residency at Simmons College (see Orchestra in Residence page) and the selection of a new music director, Richard Pittman. Committed to playing the best music of the past and the present, the orchestra continues to thrive on the exhilarating moment when composer, performer, and audience share the same time and space. We invite you to share in the adventure, both at our next concert and during the coming seasons.

The New England Philharmonic's concert season is supported in part by:

• The Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency
• The National Endowment for the Arts
• The Boston Cultural Councal
• The New England Foundation for the Arts
• The Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation
• The Westwood Educational Foundation
• The Aaron Copland Fund for New Music
• The Harvard Musical Association
• The Virgil Thomson Foundation

The New England Philharmonic also thanks the following individuals and corporations for their generous contributions to the orchestra:

Founders:

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Feldman
Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Jardine
Mr. Michel Perrault
Mr. & Mrs. Bernard Slatkavitz
Framingham State College

Benefactors ($1000 and up):

Aaron Copland Fund for New Music
Harvard Musical Association
Jennifer Snodgrass
Massachusetts Cultural Council
Nancy Hawkins
Simmons College
Sister Joan Jackson
Virgil Thompson Foundation

Sponsors ($250-499):

Dick Yoder
John G. Zornig
William C. & Carole L. Bigler

Contributors ($100-249):

Barbara Kircheimer
Beverly & John Wall
Hal B. Blackwelder
Jennifer & Larry Wissink
John & Rosalie Hermos
Joseph & Elizabeth Fisher
Louise Kawada
Paul Glenn
Susan Browse

Friends ($50-99):

Becky Marcoux
Charles Sievard
Juliet Burch
Linda & Guenter Hartt
Otto Piene
Terry Cohen & James Burrows
Tim Alexander

Supporters (up to $50):

Arthur Gardner
Benjamin & Theresa Cohen
Carl Woolf
Gretchen Faulkner
Kathy McWilliams
Linda Hiort
Lynn Simone

The New England Philharmonic is a non-profit organization. Any and all donations are greatly appreciated; if you would like to help support our activities, please mail your contributions to:

If you would like to be included on our list of contributors, please be sure to let us know how you would like your listing to appear.