The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was formed by Fritz Scheel in 1900. The orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, numbering over 130, in Verizon Hall.
Since Scheel's death, the orchestra has had eight music directors and one chief conductor, including Charles Dutoit, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy and Christoph Eschenbach; as of 2013, the incumbent is Yannick Nezet-Seguin.
From its founding until 2001, the Philadelphia Orchestra gave its concerts at the Academy of Music. The orchestra continues to own the Academy, and returns there one week per year that includes the Academy of Music's annual gala concert and concerts for school children. The Philadelphia Orchestra's summer home is the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. It also has summer residencies at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and since July 2007 at the Bravo! Vail Valley Festival in Vail, Colorado. The orchestra also performs an annual series of concerts at Carnegie Hall. From its earliest days the orchestra has been active in the recording studios, making film soundtracks and numerous gramophone recordings.
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