Lansdowne Symphony Wins American Prize For Orchestral Performance

The Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra, established in 1946 in suburban Philadelphia, was honored with a national award by The American Prize for its première recording released by New Focus Recordings of never-before-recorded compositions by American female composers, selected from the Fleisher Collection of the Philadelphia Free Library.

This new recording (released 2021), the second of the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra, showcases previously unrecorded music by female American composers. Music Director Blundell unearthed these pieces from the rich troves of the Edwin A. Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music at the Free Library of Philadelphia. This album is available via Naxos, Apple Music, Amazon, and anywhere good recordings are sold. The three composers on this Album are Linda Robbins Coleman, Alexandra Pierce (1934-2021) and Priscilla Alden Beach (1902-70).

Says Music Director Reuben Blundell, "each of these pieces presents the composers' unique view of the world - they're exciting discoveries to hear and to perform. I hope these pieces get heard more, but I also hope the exploration of them by new generations of listeners sparks greater curiosity among listeners and performers. It's a very rewarding project, and one we're continuing!"

Founded in 1946, the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest community orchestras in the Greater Philadelphia area. Led by Music Director Reuben Blundell, the talented musicians who form the core of the 75+ members of the LSO come from many walks of life and all share a strong love of music. The LSO season runs from October to April, presenting five concerts at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center.

The American Prize recognizes and rewards the best performances of American orchestras, based on submitted recordings. Focused exclusively on works by American composers from any period and in any style, the contest not only judges performances, but in the case of new or unfamiliar works, the music itself.

The Edwin A. Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music is the world's largest circulating collection of orchestral performance sets - with over 22,000 titles - and provides materials to recognized performance groups around the globe for concerts and recordings. It houses virtually the entire standard repertoire, and is also known for its many rare and out-of-print works available for lending around the world. It is a unique source of 19th and 20th century American music, and has a longstanding commitment to promoting new, noteworthy, and overlooked works.

Reuben Blundell has been Music Director of the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra since 2014. Over the past eight years, he and the musicians have built on the orchestra's great talent and potential on stage and in the community, making it one of Pennsylvania's great artistic treasures.

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