Administrative/Biographical History
The New Approach Music Makers, Inc. was established in the summer of 1977 with its primary purpose to bring music to the “average” person. The first project initiated by the organization was to establish a community orchestra. The first concert performed by this group was on Sunday, April 23, 1978, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in DeKalb. Five years later, in 1982, the organization changed its name to the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
Over the years the orchestra grew from a group getting together informally to play, to rehearsing once a week and presenting four concerts a season at the Egyptian Theatre. Likewise, the board grew from three to twelve members. In September 1986 the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra began sponsoring a Young Artists Competition, the winners of which would perform with the orchestra during its Young Peoples Concert the following spring. Over the years the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s concert season has been partially sponsored by grants from the Rockford Arts Council, the Illinois Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Kishwaukee Symphony Associates were formed in 1983 to help promote and foster the growth of the orchestra, and provide financial support to the orchestra. In recognition for providing the community with the opportunity to enjoy performances of the worlds greatest music, and enabling talented volunteer musicians in the community to participate in the act of cultural enrichment, the cities of DeKalb and Sycamore proclaimed April 24-30, 1988 Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra Week. In 1992 the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra was a recipient of the Altrusa Cultural Award. The Arthur Montzka family, instrumental in the founding and continuation of the KSO, had been honored with this award in 1990 for their musical contributions to the community.
