About the ASO
Mission Statement
The mission of the Adrian Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is to create musical performances of the highest quality and to present activities that educate, enhance, and improve the quality of life for the citizens of Lenawee County and Southeast Michigan.
Introduction to the Orchestra
Now in its 29th season, the ASO is in a period of strong artistic development and remarkable audience growth.
Members of the orchestra are professional musicians active in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. These musicians perform with other professional orchestras, ballets, and opera companies. Many teach music in the region, in private studios, colleges, universities, and public schools.
The orchestra regularly collaborates with extraordinary soloists, including prize-winners of the Naumburg, Leeds, and Tchaikovsky competitions. ASO guest artists have appeared with internationally-known orchestras in venues ranging from New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to Vienna’s Musikverein. Recent ASO soloists have appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Boston Pops, as well as other prestigious orchestras around the world.
In 2008, the ASO became one of only seven orchestras selected nationwide by the League of American Orchestras to participate in its Institutional Vision Program, a three-year intensive program devoted to long-term institutional growth and big-picture planning.
John Thomas Dodson, Music Director of the ASO, took over the organization’s artistic leadership in 2001. His artistic focus has been on inviting soloists of exceptional quality and raising the orchestra’s musical level to a new standard. Dodson’s tenure has offered a variety of concert genres, diverse concert venues, innovative audience-outreach programs and broad educational efforts for adults as well as children.
In April 2009, Elizabeth Watson became the ASO’s Executive Director after serving as an ASO musician and member of the Board of Directors. She brings to the organization a strong background in business and corporate training.
The ASO is governed by a community-based volunteer Board of Directors and is a Michigan non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. The ASO serves as the Professional Orchestra-in-Residence at Adrian College.
The orchestra is funded through earned revenue (ticket sales and program advertising) and through unearned revenue (donations, bequests, and grants) from area individuals, businesses, and foundations.