The Asheville Symphony, a professional orchestra based in Asheville, North Carolina, was established in 1960 following an earlier attempt to form a symphony during the mid-1920s by Lamar Stringfield. The orchestra played its first concert in 1961 and became fully professional in 1977. Robert Hart Baker served as the orchestra's first resident conductor from 1980 until 2004, succeeded by Daniel Meyer. In 1992, the Asheville Symphony Chorus was founded under Dewitt Tipton. The symphony has collaborated with notable musicians such as Emanuel Ax, Midori, and Julian Rachlin, and in 2015 launched the biennial Asheville Amadeus festival. Notable achievements include hosting the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra in 2012. The orchestra's current conductor and music director is Darko Butorac, who succeeded Daniel Meyer in 2018.
