In 1964, Samuel oversaw the creation of the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra, with 75 student musicians under the leadership of composer Robert Hughes.
The Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra performed in schools and for community organizations, and regularly commissioned and premiered works, financed through volunteer activities.
[1][2] As well, the youth orchestra made five commercial recordings and toured internationally, and won a Silver Medal at the Herbert von Karajan Festival in Berlin.
In 1966, the Ford Foundation undertook a national programme of matching grants to selected American cultural institutions for them to establish long-term financial stability through the building of endowment fund.
The latter included a 'Minority Orchestral Fellowship Program', to offer young string players from non-white backgrounds opportunities to play one year with a professional orchestra.
[5] In 1972, the Oakland Symphony Association acquired and renovated the 2,998-seat Paramount Theatre), with key donations from Steven Bechtel Jr. and Edgar Kaiser Sr., who also served as board president.
Later declared a National Historic Landmark, the Paramount Theatre attracted audiences and the orchestra sold nearly all its house on subscription.
In 1975, rather than continue absorbing the Paramount's operating losses, the symphony association transferred the theater to the City of Oakland for $1, in exchange for 40 years' free rent.
The orchestra was in a financially difficult point in its history, as debts were mounting, while attendance figures remained essentially stable.
Under Buckley, the symphony continued expanding its season offerings, in the face of mounting debts and essentially stable audience figures.
[5] In the spring of 1986, the orchestra announced expansion to its largest season ever, with services added to its existing programs at the Rheem Theatre (Moraga, California) and Zellerbach Hall (Berkeley, California), and a decision to return its main subscription series to its former home, the Oakland Auditorium theater, now known as the Calvin Simmons Theatre.
A retrospective analysis by Melanie Beene, Patricia Mitchell, and Fenton Johnson investigated in detail the history of the orchestra that culminated in the 1986 bankruptcy declaration.