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.
Nashville Symphony
Sharp retained William Strickland, a young conductor from New York, to serve as its first music director and conductor. The orchestra performed its first concert in the fall of 1946 at War Memorial Auditorium in downtown Nashville. Over the ensuing five seasons, Strickland was responsible for setting the high performance standards that the orchestra and its conductors have maintained to this day. Guy Taylor (1951–1959), Willis Page (1959–1967), Thor Johnson (1967–1975) and Michael Charry (1976–1982) were successive music directors. During Charry's tenure, the symphony moved its subscription series from War Memorial Auditorium to Jackson Hall in the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.