About the Civic Symphony of Green Bay

Our Mission

The Civic Symphony of Green Bay is a community of musicians committed to sustaining the wonder and beauty of symphonic music through live performances and artistic collaborations.

Vision: the symphony seeks to:

• Make symphonic music accessible through interactive and innovative experiences.
• Continue and expand educational opportunities.
• Encourage public support and gifts to sustain the goals of the orchestra.

Our History

Volunteer musicians of all ages play in the Civic Symphony of Green Bay. They are professional musicians and amateurs from all walks of life, drawn together by the love of great symphonic music and the desire to share it with others. Members from the Green Bay area are joined in the orchestra by others from many communities of Northeast Wisconsin. Under the baton of Seong-Kyung Graham, the orchestra typically offers a season of four concerts including a “family concert” that is also presented during the day for students from area schools.

The Civic Symphony of Green Bay was founded in 1995 by a committee headed by Gerald Mattern of the St. Norbert College music faculty. Mattern’s band members joined an existing community string ensemble to perform orchestral repertoire. With Mattern’s group as a nucleus and financial support from Green Bay businessman and musician Don Poh, the orchestra was born.

Rehearsals began that fall with a series of guest conductors. The musicians overwhelmingly chose Dr. Patrick Miles, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, as CSGB’s first conductor and artistic director. Under Miles, we presented our first public concert on January 27, 1996, in the Ralph Holter Auditorium of West High School.

Miles continued as conductor for 10 years, retiring after the 2004-05 season. Seong-Kyung Graham was appointed conductor and artistic director of the orchestra in 2005 after guest conducting the previous December. During Graham’s tenure, CSGB has performed a wide variety of repertoire and built a reputation for innovative collaboration with other area arts organizations. Our newest initiatives include presenting concerts in alternative venues such as the iconic Lambeau Field Atrium and an enormous Jet Air Group hangar at the Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport.

Great Music Green Bay

The Civic Symphony of Green Bay is part of a local arts coalition with three other performing arts ensembles in the Green Bay area. Please follow Great Music Green Bay on Facebook for a calendar of events and other news.

1. Brown County Civic Music Association
2. Civic Symphony of Green Bay
3. Dudley Birder Chorale of St. Norbert College
4. Weidner Philharmonic

Video Highlights

Check out our YouTube channel for playlists containing our educational presentations, along with the virtual video series of alternative programming we produced during the pandemic.

Educational Presentations

Our musicians volunteer for in-person presentations to demonstrate their instruments. This helps students prepare for what they’ll hear when they attend our annual Music for Young Listeners concerts. Plus they get a chance to meet our musicians and ask questions.