The American Symphony Orchestra (ASO) was established in 1962 by British conductor Leopold Stokowski. Prior to the Orchestra’s opening concert at Carnegie Hall on October 15, 1962, Stokowski and a small number of early collaborators met in their living rooms to conceive the Orchestra’s mission, organizational structure and, importantly, the non-profit organization’s strategy for fundraising and reaching a critical mass of subscribers.

In the living room of D.D. Brockman, a stalwart supporter of symphonic music and a founding member of the ASO’s Board of Directors, Stokowski shared his vision for the ASO. Minutes from the May 22nd, 1962 meeting record the maestro outlining the following outstanding points of endeavor for the Orchestra: to further the growth of culture both educationally and culturally…to give good music at reasonable prices and make it available to all…to give concerts for children, young adults and for teachers. This populist vision of accessible and educational music programming for all remains the Orchestra’s guiding principle and is evidenced by materials in the ASO’s records which document its various collaborations, concert programs and events.

The egalitarian ideals which guided the public activities of the ASO permeated its inner workings as well. Upon Stokowski’s retirement in 1972, the players reorganized themselves as a self-governed orchestra assuming responsibility for administrative and artistic functions with a Board composed of both orchestra musicians and members from the lay community. Biographical notes in their concert programs announced the ASO was singular amongst its U.S. peers in the degree of autonomy its players had in directing the overall operations of the organization. This structure of self-governance would prevail for roughly the next two decades of the Orchestra’s existence.

The orchestra elected conductor Kazuyoshi Akiyama to the position Stokowski had once held; Akiyama’s five year tenure as music director (1973-78) was followed by the brief leadership of Sergiu Comissiona, conductor and music advisor for the 1978-79 season. Before the arrival of the ASO’s current music director Leon Botstein in 1992, the role was left vacant or briefly held by a number of esteemed conductors including John Mauceri (ASO seasons 1986-1988) and Catherine Comet (ASO seasons 1990-1992).

From its inception through the 1980s, the home of the Orchestra’s primary concert series was Carnegie Hall. Records in the collection document the operational relationship between the two organizations. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Avery Fisher Hall (now David Geffen Hall) at the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts was the Orchestra’s primary venue. Since then, the Orchestra has returned to performing regularly at Carnegie Hall as well as a number of other New York City locations in addition to the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, serving, for a time, as its resident orchestra.