The Mission of the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra is to bring live symphonic music to the Salisbury, MD community, the broader Delmarva Peninsula, and to the Salisbury University community. Members of the Salisbury Symphony study and perform standard orchestral literature that may include chamber as well as full-sized orchestral works. The Salisbury Symphony Orchestra serves as a valuable resource within the Department of Music at Salisbury University by providing a musical outlet to musicians within a liberal arts university environment including students, faculty, community players and professionals.

About Us:

Dedicated to providing the Delmarva Peninsula with live orchestral music, the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1986 by Dr. Thomas Elliot with the support of then Salisbury State College President Thomas Bellavance. Different from other area orchestras, the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra is a partnership comprised of university students, community members and professionals. Now under the baton of Dr. Jeffrey Schoyen, the orchestra is still supported by Salisbury University and President Janet Dudley-Eshbach. With the help of dedicated volunteer musicians and the financial generosity of Eastern Shore residents, especially Dr. Peter and Judy Jackson, the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra continues to thrive.

Since 2006, each Salisbury Symphony Orchestra season has included four concerts performed in Holloway Hall Auditorium on the Salisbury University campus. The Children’s Concert is often narrated by talented SU faculty. The Holiday, Winter and Spring concerts feature standard classical repertoires as well as occasional contemporary, popular and jazz selections. In recent years, guest soloists have included: legendary jazz artists Mundell Lowe and Jim Ferguson; renowned vocalists Charlotte Paulsen and John Wesley Wright; and a nationally recognized roster of instrumentalists such as saxophonist Gary Louie, trumpeter James Bean, pianists Ernest Beretta and Eric Street, violinist Kia-Hui Tan, harpsichordist Gwen Toth and piccolo player Sarah Jackson, among others.

Now celebrating its 25th season, the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra continues to raise the quality of cultural offerings in the region through its commitment to artistic excellence and its creation of exceptional musical experiences for Eastern Shore audiences.