Decatur Symphony Illinois

A College-Community Orchestra Partnership that Works | College ...

History

Decatur, Illinois, a downstate manufacturing and agricultural center of about 90,000, has a documented history of community symphonic activity dating from 1914.  Millikin University, a small private undergraduate institution with a thriving School of Music of 320 majors, has had a curricular orchestra since shortly after its founding in 1901.

Attempts at orchestral town/gown cooperation marked most of the last century and took various forms.  In the 1930’s, Jose Echaniz, Artist-in-Residence at Millikin, assumed the podium of the Decatur Symphony, but alienated the volunteer musicians (many of whom were veterans of the silent-film era theatre orchestra) by insisting on classical repertoire, and the Symphony folded.  The name “Millikin-Decatur Symphony” dates from the late 1940’s, when Millikin began inviting townspeople into the University orchestra.

The current structure was formalized with the founding of the Symphony Orchestra Guild of Decatur in 1974.  The Guild is an independent non-profit organization which supports the orchestra as governed by Millikin University, through funding, audience building, and broad-based activities in music education.