Josephine Sanders and the Founding of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
One woman’s ingenious plan to establish Atlanta’s first professional orchestra
By James Paulk
In March 2022, Josephine F. Sanders was inducted into the Georgia Women’s Hall of Fame. Learn more about her on the Georgia Women of Achievement’s website.
On February 4th, 1945, the Atlanta Music Club sponsored a concert with Henry Sopkin conducting the Atlanta Youth Symphony Orchestra before a sold-out audience at the cavernous Atlanta Municipal Auditorium. In the 76 years that followed, that ensemble — soon to be renamed the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra — has morphed into one of the world’s finest orchestras: the soundtrack of a great city, a cultural beacon, a recording powerhouse, and a source of considerable pride.
The small group of dedicated women who brought that concert together was led by Mrs. Josephine Sanders, who had assumed the music club’s presidency only two years earlier and quickly transformed it into the most important music force in the city. She had organized the AYSO from an existing orchestra after hearing them perform and realizing, as an accomplished violinist and educator, the quality of their playing. Distressed that Atlanta was the largest city in the country without a professional orchestra, she was determined to find a way to create one.
After hearing the young musicians of the “In and About Atlanta Orchestra,” Josephine had the idea to begin with this group, then add professional adult musicians as funding solidified and the organization prospered. At least four efforts to form an orchestra had failed in the decades since the turn of the century, and much of the city’s arts and civic leadership was pessimistic about the chances for creating an orchestra, especially with WWII still raging. “Atlanta will grow an orchestra, not buy one” became her motto. Josephine was, by all accounts, uniquely charismatic, and she sold both her music club members and the city’s corporate leadership on the potential for success of her plan.
Josephine worked with music educators to transform the “In and About” ensemble, which was created from the best students in the music programs of Atlanta Public Schools, into a larger ensemble, adding college students and others with talent. The ages in the AYSO ranged from 11 to 25.
Josephine had been introduced to Henry Sopkin, a dynamic young conductor and educator then located in Chicago, who had guest conducted the “In and About” ensemble on several occasions, and she was impressed with his musical ability and his organizational skills. She ultimately persuaded him to move to Atlanta, taking a 25% pay cut in the process, to lead the fledgling ensemble. Years later, Sopkin explained that it was his faith in Josephine and her colleagues that brought him to Atlanta.
Funds were needed to pay Sopkin and to cover the cost of renting the auditorium, which was also used for rehearsals, and Josephine led a committee which raised funds from 42 Atlanta corporations to finance the new venture, making tickets free for the initial concerts.
When the AYSO rebranded as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Josephine led in creating a new structure for the organization, making it independent of the music club. But for the rest of her life she remained devoted to the Orchestra, helping with fundraising and chairing various events and committees.
