After Fleischer's death during the Covid-19 pandemic, Elizabeth Schulze served as artistic advisor and chief conductor while the ASO searched for a new music director.
In 2022, Schulze was named as the music director and conductor of the orchestra, and embarked on her first official season in that position.
The Anchorage Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1946, more than a decade before Alaska became a state, by a consortium of like-minded musicians looking for a musical outlet.
From their original size of 17, the ASO grew through the 1950s, hiring Peter Britch as conductor, and increasing to 32 members.
[1] Anchorage, however, continued to grow with the development of the City of Anchorage as the North Slope oil fields grew and with the continued military presence of Elmendorf Air Force Base, the ASO by the 1980s crossed the threshold as a semi-professional ensemble.