Artists in Residence

Community Service Through Music

In 1995, as part of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra’s 75th-anniversary celebration, a commitment was made to develop four full-time Artist in Residence positions that would enable the orchestra to create community service and education programs and strengthen the orchestra ensemble.

To this end, the Artist in Residence (AIR) program was begun with the KSO’s Burdick-Thorne String Quartet. Since that time, the Artist in Residence program has grown to eight positions, including oboe, clarinet, trombone, and timpani. As a result, the artistic level of the orchestra has soared, and the KSO’s education and community programs have expanded to reach over 45,000 people and more than 190 schools in eight counties throughout Southwest Michigan.