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On October 7, 1923, the first ensemble to bear the name Atlanta Symphony Orchestra took the stage. Its Sunday afternoon concert series featured 60 players.
After the rise of the talking motion picture, the orchestra was dissolved and reborn as the Atlanta Youth Symphony. Organized almost entirely by local teachers, it began to slowly bring back adult musicians in the early 1940s. By 1951, the orchestra had shifted back to featuring all professional musicians and was thus given back its original namesake.
The Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra remains strong despite splitting from its predecessor, featuring 120 of Atlanta’s finest students.
– Preston Thompson, SPR Atlanta