The first Williamsport Symphony Orchestra began with fifty-nine musicians and debuted in 1915 under the baton of E. Hart Bugbee, a violin maker with a studio in Market Square ( the former Ulman Opera House).  In 1933 it became the Rural Works Development Orchestra, and in 1940 reemerged as the Williamsport Civic Orchestra.
       World War II put a hold on the orchestra as many went off to support the war effort.  By popular demand, the symphony was revived in 1947 under the direction of local music legend Osborne Housel.  Season sponsorships, a scholarship program, and a symphony society were formed.  A photograph of that orchestra may be viewed by clicking here.  The orchestra gave capacity performances at the Capitol Theatre (now the Community Arts Center) and, in the summer of 1956, presented a free
concert at the Brandon Park bandshell.
       Housel passed away in May 1957, and the orchestra ceased operations.
       The current Williamsport Symphony Orchestra was started "from scratch" in 1964 with Lewisburg violinist Dorothy Baumwoll and semi-profiessional oboist Dr. William Barrison.  They solicited musicians from four counties to launch the Susquehanna Valley Symphony Orchestra.  Functioning under a volunteer management, the SVSO braved numerous crises to keep alive.
       Music industry professionals and corporate sponsors began to take an interest in the SVSO.  In 1982 the SVSO recruited Rolf Smedvig as music director.  Once the principal trumpet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Smedvig is a founding member of the Grammy-winning Empire Brass Quintet.
       In 1984 the SVSO's name was changed to "Williamsport Symphony Orchestra".   Smedvig passed the baton to Robin Fountain in 1992.  Under Fountain's leadership, the WSO expanded its reach to become a full-fledged semi-professional orchestra.  The uniquely-talented Fountain rose to the task of  making the WSO a stand-out orchestra in a small city.  He moved in 2007, and after a year-long national search Tomasz Golka became Music Director in 2008. 
       In 2010, our 44th season, we welcomed Gerardo Edelstein to our stage as WSO's Conductor and Music Director. 
       The Williamsport Symphony Youth Orchestra, now in its 27th year, provides an educational and performance medium for aspiring musicians from middle school to college age.  WSYO is under the leadership of Dr. Jennifer Sacher-Wiley, professor of
violin and orchestra at Susquehanna University, former principal second violin of WSO and concertmaster of the newly formed Northern Tier Symphony.
       Since 2001, the WSO has given their first television broadcast, finished a successful endowment campaign, launched a
summer concert series Pops in the Park, moved headquarters to the  2100 seat Community Arts Center, and received nationwide recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts and the League of American Orchestras.  The WSO's musician roster has increased and concert attendance records have been broken.
       WSO continues to enrich and support the economic and cultural growth of our region.