Started by a small group of musicians who had sent out invitations to join their organization to people in the area, they had their first rehearsal the following year with 75 instrumentalists,[1] giving their first concert a month later at the Strand Theater.
An outgoing man, he befriended the "leading families" of the orchestra, and they helped him get support.
He was a graduate of Central College in Iran, where he had been the co-founder and conductor of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra.
The Portland Symphony Orchestra developed a national reputation for its artistic quality during Bruce Hangen's subsequent tenure.
He tightened the orchestra's grasp of symphonic masterworks and deepened its commitment to youth and family programming, while building higher on the firm music foundations left by his predecessors.
He was a champion of new music, particularly the work of Mason Bates, and began the Discovery Concert series for families.
Eckart Preu has been named the 13th music director of the Portland Symphony and began his tenurein the 2019–2020 season.