In February 2022, Steve Greifer started reaching out on local social media to see if he could find some musicians to play chamber music with when he moved to Milton in April. He hoped to play some duets or, better yet, play in a string quartet.

Eva DelGallo, a Lewes violinist and retired school orchestra director, responded to Steve’s first postings with a much bigger vision than a quartet. Seeing the enthusiastic response from the string-playing community, Eva saw the opportunity to bring her long time dream of an orchestra in Southern Delaware to life, and jumped in with both feet.

Our third co-founder is our music director, James Allen Anderson, head of Orchestral Studies at University of Delaware. We reached out to Jim in our search for a musical leader, hoping he would refer some of his conducting students. Instead, Jim volunteered to lead us!

By May 3, an unnamed orchestra of 30 string musicians held its first rehearsal, and on July 16, a newly named/formed/incorporated/501(v)(3) Southern Delaware Orchestra played its inaugural concert at Bethel United Methodist Church in Lewes to a standing ovation from a capacity audience!

Today, we have over 40 musicians who have played with us, and many friends in the southern Delaware community who support our efforts. We practice every Tuesday night and have a roster of upcoming concerts ahead of us. We are a welcoming no-audition orchestra with members ranging from retirees to active professional musicians to talented teens!

We are all about creating a wonderful musical experience for both our members and our community, and we plan to be a long term member of the cultural scene in Southern Delaware!! We hope to see you soon.

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