Our Mission & History

The Paducah Symphony Orchestra (PSO) was founded in 1979 when a number of area musicians performed at the city's Summer Festival. That concert created enough enthusiasm to bring together a small group of founders who organized additional concerts. During the first two years, concerts were planned and performed one at a time as funds were raised. In the years since, the PSO has expanded its concert season to include seven classical concerts and three choral concerts. Many of the concerts now feature internationally recognized guest artists and local Paducah natives in the music performance industry.

Dr. Jordan Tang conducted the orchestra for twenty-three seasons from 1987 to 2009. In the spring of 2010, the PSO appointed Raffaele Ponti as its new Artistic Director & Conductor.

The mission of the PSO is to bring the rewards of great music to a growing and diverse regional audience. As the orchestra-in-residence at the Carson Center for the Performing Arts, the PSO encompasses a wide range of ensembles, including a professional orchestra, auditioned adult, youth & children choruses and other music education programs and services. The orchestra members, all paid professional musicians, are drawn from over 30 communities in Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Alabama. The audience is even more diverse, representing over 60 communities in a five state area.

As the score and quality of the organization's programs have grown, so has its operating budget. From a $45,000 budget in 1981-82, the Paducah Symphony's operating budget has grown to over $2 million.

For 45 years, the PSO has served as the premier musical organization in Paducah and the surrounding region, expanding its appearances through collaborations with community partners and enhancing the area's cultural reputation.

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PSO Music Academy

The brand-new PSO Academy is under the umbrella of the Paducah Symphony Orchestra and provides affordable music instruction to children and adults in a community music school setting. For years, the Walter C. Jetton School building was the venue for Paducah Symphony Orchestra concerts. It now serves as a campus for the orchestra's administrative offices and music academy. The PSO Academy at 401 Walter Jetton Blvd. includes eight teaching studios for individual lessons, one teaching room for group rehearsals, and a performance hall that seats about 570 people.

The PSO endeavors to provide the very best musical experiences for participants while focusing on the whole person including the head and heart. The focus of the curriculum is to better themselves holistically through active participation in music, through instilling in each a motivation to work both independently and as part of a team, increased self-discipline, and a sense of gratitude for their opportunities. We aim to develop individuals with a lifelong appreciation for and desire to participate in music.