Previous to 1957:          

Frank Philips Men’s Club band forms The Little Symphony Players consist of Phillips Petroleum staff and community members. Members met and practiced in Phillips Petroleum’s Adams Auditorium

Founders included: Don Berger, Bruce Price, Barbara Wallace, Spencer Prentiss            

The Little Symphony forms into The Phillips Symphony

December 10, 1957: First concert performed by The Phillips Symphony
First song: Coronation March from the Opera, “The Prophet”

Conductors: Bruce Price, George Baum, and W.D. McKeehar.
Location:  Adams Auditorium

May 19, 1959: Bruce Price conducts first solo performance with The Phillips Symphony

1970’s

Early 1970s: Bruce Price retires but remains as a flautist. Various performances and conductors perform in a variety of Bartlesville locations.

Conductors included: Charles Lee, Robert Ritschel, Mort Cuplin, Noel Kaiser, and John Wyatt

 1975: William Belan, Tulsa choral director hired to be conductor.

November 17, 1976: The name of The Phillips Symphony is changed to the Bartlesville Symphony

Early 1977:  Symphony champions Don Berger, Bion Hitchcock, and Nan Buhlinger helped to incorporate and applied for a tax-exempt (non-profit) status, establishing the Bartlesville as an independent organization from the Phillips Petroleum Company.

 Summer 1977: Current Conductor-Music Director, Lauren Green hired.

November 13, 1977: Maestro Lauren Green’s first concert with The Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra.

1980’s

1980: Quarterly free concerts are performed at the newly constructed First Baptist Church

1981:  Board of Directors established; Nan Buhlinger is the first Board President.

May 3, 1981: Young Artist Competition established by Maestro Green:

First competitors include:  Jimmy Manning, Janice Succi, Amy Cunningham, Heidi Likowistch, David Simmons, & Julie Hershberger

1981-82: Silver Anniversary of BSO; first time charging tickets at $10/season ticket.

March 14, 1982: First Bartlesville Symphony performance at the newly opened Bartlesville Community Center

Guest artist William Warfield, who narrated Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, and performed arias from Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess

Tickets were $2.50 for adults and $1 for students

First song, “The Consecration of the House Overture, Op. 124”, Ludwig van Beethoven

This season also marks a formal shift for the Bartlesville Symphony: guest artists and glam! 

1982: The Symphony Society is established to give both financial and educational support.

October 10, 1982: 25th Birthday Concert with guest artist, Susan Powell, Miss America 1981

Special work was commissioned by Roger Price, a composer and native of Bartlesville, called “Twenty-fifth Anniversary Concert”

Original orchestra members included: Spencer Prentiss, Mary Alice Jones, Barbara Wallace, Jean Dean, Bruce Price, Shirley Baughman, Marilyn Goodwin, Paul Tatroe, and Don Berger, and Jay Janzen.

November 1983: First fundraising Ball established by The Symphony Society

January 21, 1984: Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra performs with Doc Severinsen

May 4, 1985:  Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra performs with Steve Allen

May 3, 1986: Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra Performs with Shirley Jones

1986-1987: 30th Season of the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra

November 22, 1986: The Rose Ball, fundraiser for the BSO—WHEN DID THESE START?

Chair people: Phyllis and Bill Barr, Mary and Dick Kane, Bob and Kelmor Wallace

May 13, 1989: Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra performs with Broadway legend, Carol Channing

1990’s

May 9, 1992: Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra performs with Henry Mancini

1995: Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra performs with Ben Vereen and Robert Goulet

Spring 1996:  Upbeats!  A pre-concert talk with Maestro Green is added to performance night

2000’s

May 18, 2002: Maestro Lauren Green 25th Anniversary with the BSO. performance with guest artist, Sam Harris

2007-2008 Season: Maestro Lauren Green’s 30th Anniversary with the BSO

May 8, 2008: Gala 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert

2016-2017: Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra 60th year

2019 - to present: The Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra has joined with the Carnegie Link Up Program to bring our students together with the symphony. Through the Link Up repertoire, hands-on activities, and a culminating interactive performance with a professional orchestra, we will discover how the “Orchestra Sings.” 

April 2021: Dr. Angela Carter becomes the BSO’s first executive director.

May 2022: Dr. John Jenkins is appointed as the second executive director of the BSO.

2024-2025: The Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra launched its first chamber series, “Concerts Off the Beaten Path,” which included 3 standalone concerts.