In 1935, during National Music Week, a group of women from the Helen G. Steele Music Club met to discuss possibly forming a symphony in Sedalia. They approached musician Abe Rosenthal and asked if he would be willing to serve as conductor.

“When I first came to town, I wanted it to happen, but I didn’t think it could. A symphony orchestra in a town of only 20,000 hit so hard by the Depression? Impossible, I thought – at first, that is.”

The group had its first concert in June 1935, and the first season began in November 1935 with a concert held at the Smith-Cotton High School Auditorium. The audience, many dressed in tuxedos and formal gowns, enthusiastically applauded the performance of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony in B Minor, a difficult work performed splendidly. By the time of the second performance in February 1936, the orchestra had “rapidly matured,” according to the Sedalia Democrat.

Abe Rosenthal retired as conductor in April 1980 at 81 after serving 45 years with the Sedalia Symphony. Rosenthal held the distinction of having the longest tenure as a conductor of any orchestra leader in the United States, except for Arthur Fiedler of the Boston Pops Orchestra. The Symphony has always strived to make its programs affordable to most Sedalians. Season tickets cost $1.50 initially, and individual performance tickets cost fifty cents. By 1963, the price of a season ticket had risen to $3.50. Currently, a season ticket is $65, or $50 for those aged 60 and over, including four concerts. Students in grades K-12 are admitted free of charge.

The presence of the Symphony makes Sedalia one of a unique few cities, and the fact that Sedalia is so small makes its continued presence even more noteworthy. The Sedalia Symphony is the second oldest continuous Symphony in the state, the first being the St. Louis Symphony.

Local newspapers have frequently praised Sedalia’s ability to sustain a symphony orchestra. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, fewer than 5% of American urban areas have symphonies.

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Excerpted from A Brief History of the Sedalia Symphony by Rhonda Chalfant, April 24, 2000

The Sedalia Symphony Orchestra is always looking for photographs, postcards, performance programs, posters, and other memorabilia to post here on the History Section of our website, our FaceBook page, and other related media and printed materials.  The Sedalia Symphony Orchestra would LOVE to hear from you if you come across such historical materials!