Our History

Clayton A. Eaton and the Nashua Symphony, circa 1923.

SYMPHONY NEW HAMPSHIRE, EST. 1923

A celebrated source of innovation, inspiration, education and entertainment since 1923, Symphony New Hampshire is the premiere symphony orchestra of the Granite State. From its humble beginnings over 98 years ago as a mainly all-Nashua musician group that performed two concerts each season in the City of Nashua, the orchestra has since grown into a vibrant jewel in the cultural crown of New Hampshire. Today, concerts are offered not only in Nashua, but throughout Southern New Hampshire and in special performances around the region.

As the organization heads towards its centennial milestone on April 29, 2023, and looks to its second century of music making, presenting masterworks, choral extravaganzas, contemporary pieces and rare jewels of the orchestral repertoire, the symphony today comprises top musicians throughout New England. It is acclaimed for its memorable performances, including premieres by composers Kevin Siegfried, and Randall Thompson; wide-ranging repertoire from Bach to Bartok, including New Hampshire native Amy Beach, and from Bernstein to the Beatles and more.

Among the notable guest artists that have graced the orchestra’s stage are pianists Emanuel Ax, Herbert Stessin,  Max Levinson, and Victor Borge; violinists Caroline Goulding, Jennifer Koh, Irina Muresanu, and Mark O’Connor; cellist Sergey Antonov, The Irish Tenors; and conductor Eiji  Oue, as well as collaborations with such local organizations as the Boston Ballet, Nashua Choral Society, Granite State  Chorale, Nashoba Valley Chorale, Lowell State Chorus, Chelmsford Choral Society, Worcester Chorus, Concord Chorus, and Merrimack Lyric Opera Company, to name a few. Symphony NH has also been presented in recent seasons by Music Worcester (MA) and the Jorgensen Center at UConn Storrs.

Founded as the Nashua Symphony Orchestra by Clayton A. Eaton, the organization has gone through several incarnations as the community experienced the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, World War II and other events in its history. At one time also called the Nashua Symphony Association, the organization changed its name June 19, 2012 to Symphony NH to reflect its expanded mission “to inspire and enlighten through exceptional live music” serving the state, not just the city of Nashua.

Symphony NH is committed to its community beyond its popular concert series. Through its Community Partnership program, the organization offers music education programs that introduce students to instruments and live performances as well as helping to enrich existing music programs across Southern New Hampshire. Having served Nashua students for years, in 2016 the orchestra’s educational scope expanded to Manchester, Concord and the Upper Valley. That same year Symphony NH also began community concerts in Nashua and Concord. In 2018 Adopt-a-School was introduced in Nashua and Carnegie Hall’s Link Up program was added in 2019.

Symphony No. 100
by Alexandria Peary

Today the Nashua Symphony orchestra gave so much pleasure
to the public of this city with its first concerts.

–Nashua Telegraph, April 29, 1923

Mission and Values

Symphony New Hampshire Is Dedicated To Making Great Music Accessible And Providing Learning Opportunities To Enrich Diverse Audiences.

Symphony New Hampshire is dedicated to performing great music with an exceptional orchestra to enrich and delight our diverse audiences, expand the musical and humanitarian contributions of our entire arts community, provide learning opportunities with performances that spread beauty, empowerment, and good will.

Values Statement

  • Excellence.

    We are committed to the highest level of artistic achievement, innovation and creativity. Integrity, trust, respect, and relevance will inform all our decisions.

  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    We promote equity through words and actions by actively supporting diverse musicians, conductors, audiences, board members, staff, and musical repertoire.

  • Community Engagement

    We foster meaningful relationships throughout our communities through musical performances, programs, and collaborations to engage the hearts and minds of our listeners.

  • Education

    We provide exciting, life-changing music education opportunities and resources for people of all ages.

  • Collaboration

    We are stronger by building community relationships and collaborating with schools, nonprofits, and arts organizations as we promote accessibility to our performances.

  • Legacy

    We will continue to be responsible stewards of our patrons’ investments in our present operations, and plan dutifully for our future.

 
 
 

New Century, New Logo

Connecting community through fresh, energetic and moving musical experiences.

As we prepare to celebrate 100 years as New Hampshire’s professional symphonic orchestra, we’ve taken time to take stock of our past, review our history, and look to our future – our next 100 years.

We’ve done a brand refresh to reflect our goals and missions and highlight our unique accomplishments. We are Dedicated To Making Great Music Accessible And Providing Learning Opportunities To Enrich the Diverse Audiences that make up our vibrant state.

Recognized throughout the state, Symphony NH is known for its performances of masterworks, rare gems, contemporary compositions, pops, and popular works not only in the classical genre, but also in the jazz and pops genres. A wonderfully diverse selection of repertoire is presented in a fresh, current way, and the key elements of fun and memorable experiences are always included.

We continue to develop connections to local schools, businesses, arts organizations and presenters around the state. We aim to bring music to every county in the state. We are a modern, 21st-century organization – we are part of New Hampshire’s history and part of its future.

To reflect this, we’ve updated our image – more vivid colors, a new logo and font, and contemporary designs that capture the essence of our work. We aim to inspire our neighbors, colleagues and audiences, and to start conversations that cultivate a deeper connection to our communities and the people that comprise them.

Our new color palette is energetic, clean, and symbolic: green reflects the grass and other growing plants throughout the state; blue reflects the rivers that abound in our state, running through mountains and valleys, and connecting Symphony NH to its home base of Nashua. The new design of our logo reflects all of this and more as well.

We have a new tagline: “The symphonic sound of the Granite State” - to help remind us of our past as we move forward.

Our new communications across platforms are all focused on our inherent orchestra values - our duty as the symphonic sound of the state, being an innovative, community-centric, inclusive, accessible, fun, modern organization that is bold moving forward and forging new connections in our community.


We are very excited to share with you our new logo and website experience!