June 20, 2025

To our past and present Symphony musicians, sponsors, subscribers, and audiences:

As Summer quickly approaches, we would like to update you on several important pieces of information regarding the Southern Tier Symphony, our upcoming concert season, and beyond.  

As we look back at our past two concert seasons and the difficulties the Symphony faced, the Board of Directors has come to a decision to treat our 2025-2026 season as a year of rebuilding and restructuring.  The Symphony understands how the performance landscapes of the Western New York and Northeastern Pennsylvania regions have changed since the COVID pandemic and how the Symphony needs to change along with it.  As such, the Symphony will still have performances during the 2025-2026 performance year, but it will be truncated from its usual three-concert season.  While members of the orchestra are busy preparing for our concerts this upcoming year, the Board of Directors will be hard at work reevaluating the best ways to bring music to the southern tier region that benefits our patrons, musicians, and audience members.

What does this mean for our audiences?

The Southern Tier Symphony is committed to providing quality concert experiences for our audiences in the Greater Olean and Bradford areas.  We understand the importance of the orchestra's presence in these areas, and are forever grateful to our sister sites, St. Bonaventure University and the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, for their continued support throughout the Symphony's life.  This season, we will be offering two concerts:

Friday, December 5th, 2025 at 7:30pm - Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, St. Bonaventure University

Saturday, April 25th, 2026 at 7:30pm - Blaisdell Hall, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford

In December, members of the Southern Tier Symphony's brass section will be performing holiday music at St. Bonaventure that is sure to get audiences in the holiday spirit.  Members of the brass section will also be holding a master class for music students in the area the day before the concert.  Later in the spring, members of the Symphony will be returning to UPitt Bradford's campus to fill Blaisdell Hall with chamber music in a more intimate setting.  Stay tuned to the Symphony's website for more details as they become available. 

What does this mean for our subscribers and sponsors?

With the altered season being presented, the Symphony will be handling season subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising differently this year.  For our subscribers, we will not be offering a subscription price for this season's concerts.  We are fortunate to have the Regina A. Quick Center and Friends of Good Music as co-sponsors for our December holiday concert.  Because of this, ticket sales will be handled directly by the Quick Center for this concert.  We encourage you to visit the Quick Center's website for more information on ticket sales and pricing.  Our concert at UPitt Bradford will be handled by the Symphony directly.  Audiences may either pre-order their tickets online later this year via the Southern Tier Symphony's website (southerntiersymph.org/tickets-basic-annual-subscription) or buy their tickets at the door.

For our sponsors, the Symphony values your commitment to supporting live music in the southern tier region, and we want to provide a way to continue to support your business with us and to thank you for your patronage.  The Board of Directors is considering the best way to accomplish this and we ask that you stay tuned for further correspondence from us directly on how we will be handling sponsorship this season.

What does this mean for our musicians?

Our musicians are the lifeblood of the organization.  There would literally be no Symphony without all of you.  The Board of Directors is working with veteran members of the Symphony to ensure an environment that respects your busy lives and appropriately credits the hard work you put into each concert.  We would ask any musician who has performed with the Symphony in the past or is a current member to please reach out to us at [email protected] and supply their preferred method of contact to be kept in the loop concerning changes being made to the rehearsal schedule, compensation, and more.  

Finally, the Board of Directors is looking for members of the Greater Olean and Bradford area to join them!  If you have a love of music and want a direct hand in helping the Symphony's contributions to live music in the southern tier region, now is the best time to join.  Inquiries and resumes may be sent to: [email protected].  

If you have any further questions regarding the Symphony's status, or if you wish to contribute to the orchestra, we ask you to please contact us at [email protected] or call us at 234-254-2448 for further information and/or conversation.