Frank Blachford was appointed the new concertmaster, and other professionals were hired at this time to raise the overall playing talent of the orchestra.
The TSO attempted to reach a different audience by establishing extra concerts of popular music in 1909 with ticket prices at just 25 cents.
[1] During its history, the TSO mainly performed works from the standard German Classical and Romantic period repertoires, such as symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn, Felix Mendelssohn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Franz Schubert.
The group also performed more rarely heard works, such as both of Karl Goldmark's symphonies and Richard Strauss's Death and Transfiguration.
In April 1911 the ensemble performed Edward Elgar's oratorio The Dream of Gerontius with the composer as guest conductor and the Sheffield Choir.
Other notable guests included pianists Wilhelm Backhaus and Vladimir de Pachmann; singers Clara Butt, Johanna Gadski, Alma Gluck, Louise Homer, Leo Slezak, and Ernestine Schumann-Heink; and violinists Mischa Elman, Carl Flesch, Fritz Kreisler, and Eugène Ysaÿe.
[1] During World War I, the TSO began to experience financial difficulties and faced other war-related problems affecting travel, audience attendance, and the ability to keep its players.