Symphony Orchestra
History
The inaugural concert of the SHSU Symphony Orchestra was for many years thought to be that presented under the direction of Professor William Kramer featuring a performance of Handel's Messiah with the SHSU Choirs and the Huntsville Community Choral Society under the direction of Dr. Charles Lindsay. This concert was presented on the afternoon of December 7, 1941 in the auditorium of the beautiful gothic structure on the SHSU campus known as Old Main.
Because of the events of the day including the attack on American troops and facilities at Pearl Harbor, the conductors considered a postponement or cancellation of the performance. Community leaders, including members of the city government, the University administration and spiritual leaders, determined that the city was in need of the gathering of forces in order for residents to have a central place to help each and all with the devastating news of the day.
Archival records from commencement announcements and programs dispute the aforementioned date of 1941 as the first year of the existence of the orchestra. Earlier extracted records, however, reflect the existence of an orchestra at Sam Houston as early as 1911. Most recently, University Archivist, Barbara Kievit-Mason located an earlier record of the orchestra in the documents describing course work in the 1905-1906 bulletin. The earliest record in the archives of the orchestra playing for the commencement ceremonies was in 1908. The full commencement listings are not available for 1905-1907 so the orchestra may have played but no records are available.