In 2010, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra released its first commercial recording in more than 30 years, featuring William Walton’s Symphony No. 1 and Violin Concerto, as part of its “William Walton Project.” The project is part of a three-year collaboration with the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University that will produce concerts, broadcasts, lectures and future recordings.

Although among the oldest American symphony orchestras in existence (having begun in 1894), the NHSO does much to differentiate itself from its peers. Among its various school programs, What if Mozart Played Guitar Hero? is a clever concept designed for grades 2-8 in which orchestral musicians reimagine rock songs featured by the popular video game in the style of the legendary composer. This kind of singular, creative approach to educational outreach extends to the Aquatic Dance Project, an interdisciplinary collaboration with the Mystic Aquarium and the Elm City Dance Collective which highlights aquatic life through numerous performances throughout schools in Connecticut and a project-ending, two-day Family Festival at Mystic Aquarium in the spring of 2011.

Through the NHSO’s “Shifting Patterns Project,” the role of the orchestra’s Music Alive Composers-in-Residence Jin-Hi Kim and Augusta Read Thomas expands beyond the commissioning and performance of new works to include the cultivation of projects through the spring of 2011:  “Music and Meditation”—in which Kim helps to deepen the musical experience of middle school students with special needs—and “Connecticut Young Composers’ Project,” in which Thomas mentors high school composers as they create works to be performed by the NHSO Contemporary Music Ensemble.