The Juneau Symphony is a semi-professional symphony orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

 located in Juneau, Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

.

History

The Juneau Symphony was created in 1962 by Cliff Berge and was self-conducted until 1982, when a professional director was needed. Mel Flood filled that role until his retirement in 1999. Peabody Institute

Peabody Institute

The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...

 graduate Kyle Wiley Pickett was subsequently hired, a position he still fills today.

Today

The Juneau Symphony has expanded in recent years, featuring a part-time administrator/executive director, over 80 musicians, a full-fledged and multi-tiered student symphony network, and has been advertising out of town for its performances aiming for a more regional audience. The symphony also brings in guest musicians from Seattle

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

 and the Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

for its concerts for instrumentation where local or regional talent does not exist or suffice.