National Symphony Orchestra (Dominican Republic)
The National Symphony Orchestra was officially created on August 5, 1941. Nevertheless, its history can be traced to the beginning of the 20th century, when under the initiative of Juan Bautista Alfonseca, the Octet of the Youth Casino was founded in Santo Domingo.
State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation
The orchestra was founded in 1936 as the USSR State Symphony Orchestra, with Alexander Gauk as its first music director. The orchestra changed its name after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The orchestra's longest serving music director was Evgeny Svetlanov, from 1965 to 2000. Svetlanov's tenure ended with his controversial dismissal by Russia's minister of culture, Mikhail Shvydkoi, who had accused Svetlanov of spending excessive time conducting outside of Russia. In 2005, the orchestra officially acquired the additional name of "Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra". The orchestra now has the formal name, in English of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra "Evgeny Svetlanov".