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Portland Symphony Orchestra

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The Portland Symphony Orchestra (PSO) was established in 1923 in Portland, Maine as the Amateur Strand Symphony Orchestra. Started by a small group of musicians who had sent out invitations to join their organization to people in the area, they had their first rehearsal the following year with 75 instrumentalists, giving their first concert a month later at the Strand Theater. In 1927 the orchestra changed its name to the Portland Municipal Orchestra, and again in 1932 to the Portland Maine Symphony. In 1969, the orchestra's name was changed to the Portland Symphony Orchestra, after that name became available when an older orchestra in Portland, Oregon, relinquished it in favor of a new name, the Oregon Symphony . Today the Portland Symphony Orchestra is recognized to be one of the top orchestras of its size in the country. The concert season runs from September to May and during July, and performs a variety of concerts in their home concert hall Merrill Auditorium .

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52-510: The Portland Symphony Orchestra has had 13 main conductors since its establishment in 1923. Its first conductor was the city of Portland's organist, Charles Raymond Cronham, from 1927 to 1932. During his tenure, he extended rehearsals and the concert schedule. He also inaugurated out-of-town concerts such as the performance at Bowdoin College in January 1928. Volunteers and musicians transported

104-453: A " Hidden Ivy ". Bowdoin's dining services have been ranked No. 1 among all universities and colleges nationally by Princeton Review in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2016, with The New York Times reporting: "If it weren't for the trays, and for the fact that most diners are under 25, you'd think it was a restaurant." Bowdoin uses food from its organic garden in its two major dining halls, and every academic year begins with

156-660: A 118-acre (48 ha) coastal studies center on Orr's Island and a 200-acre (81 ha) scientific field station on Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy . Bowdoin College was chartered in 1794 by the Massachusetts State Legislature and was later redirected under the jurisdiction of the Maine Legislature . It was named for former Massachusetts governor James Bowdoin , whose son James Bowdoin III

208-423: A broadcast to Kyoto, Japan. From 1967 until 1975, Paul Vermal was the main conductor. He conducted a five-day Canadian Tour. He also introduced outdoor concerts and concert previews. The Portland Symphony Orchestra developed a national reputation for its artistic quality during Bruce Hangen's subsequent tenure. He helped expand educational programs which attracted children of all ages. He also created and developed

260-413: A calling in such vital but often low paying fields such as teaching or social work. With significant debt at graduation, some students will undoubtedly be forced to make career or education choices not based on their talents, interests, and promise in a particular field but rather on their capacity to repay student loans. As an institution devoted to the common good, Bowdoin must consider the fairness of such

312-648: A cappella groups are on campus; the Meddiebempsters are the oldest. Founded in the spring of 1937, the Meddies performed in USO shows after World War II . Bowdoin College signed onto the American College and University President's Climate Commitment in 2007. The college followed through with a carbon neutrality plan released in 2009, with 2020 as the target year for carbon neutrality. According to

364-530: A lobster bake outside Farley Fieldhouse. Recalling his days at Bowdoin in a 2005 interview, Professor Richard E. Morgan (class of 1959) described student life at the then-all-male school as "monastic" and noted that "the only things to do were either work or drink". This is corroborated by the Official Preppy Handbook , which in 1980 ranked Bowdoin the number two drinking school in the country, behind Dartmouth . These days, Morgan observed,

416-562: A result." In February 2009, following a US$ 10 million donation (equivalent to $ 14.2 million in 2023) by Subway co-founder and alumnus Peter Buck , class of 1952, the college completed a $ 250-million capital campaign. Additionally, the college has also recently completed major construction projects on the campus, including a renovation of the college's art museum and a new fitness center named after Peter Buck. On July 1, 2015, Clayton Rose succeeded Mills as president. Eight years later, on July 1, 2023, Safa Zaki succeeded Rose as

468-554: A system of college-owned social houses. In 1970, Bowdoin began competing in the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium , with Bates and Colby. The consortium became both an athletic rivalry and an academic exchange program. On January 18, 2008, Bowdoin announced that it would eliminate loans for all new and current students receiving financial aid, replacing those loans with grants beginning with the 2008–2009 academic year. President Barry Mills stated, "Some see

520-546: Is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education . Bowdoin was ranked first among 1,204 small colleges in the U.S. by Niche in 2017, but has since fallen to 6th. Based on students' SAT scores, Bowdoin is tied with Williams for 5th in Business Insider's smartest liberal arts colleges, with an average score of 1435 for math and critical reading combined. Among all colleges, it

572-402: Is a need-blind and no-loans institution. While a significant portion of the student body hails from New England —including nearly 25% from Massachusetts and 10% from Maine—recent classes have drawn from an increasingly national and international pool. The median family income of Bowdoin students is $ 195,900, with 57% of students coming from the top 10% of highest-earning families and 17.5% from

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624-739: Is located 8 miles (13 km) south of Orr's Island in Harpswell, Maine . Bowdoin College operates the Bowdoin Scientific Station on Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. Organized athletics at Bowdoin began in 1828 with a gymnastics program established by the "father of athletics in Maine", John Neal . In the proceeding years, Neal agitated for more programs, and himself taught bowling , boxing , and other sports. Bowdoin College teams are known as

676-490: Is the Outing Club, which leads canoeing, kayaking, rafting, camping, and backpacking trips throughout Maine. One of the school's two historic rival literary societies, The Peucinian Society, has recently been revitalized from its previous form. The Peucinian Society was founded in 1805. This organization counts such people as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain among its former members. The other,

728-782: Is the oldest continuously published college weekly in the United States. The Orient was named the second-best tabloid-sized college weekly at a Collegiate Associated Press conference in March 2007 and the best college newspaper in New England by the New England Society of News Editors in 2018. The school's literary magazine, The Quill , was published between 1897 and 2015. The Bowdoin Globalist , an international news, culture, and politics magazine affiliated with

780-496: Is tied with Brown , Carnegie Mellon , and Williams for 22nd. The college was ranked 5th in the country by Washington Monthly in 2019 based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service. In 2006, Newsweek described Bowdoin as a " New Ivy ", one of a number of liberal arts colleges and universities outside of the Ivy League , and it has also been dubbed

832-608: Is white. The fight song, Forward The White , was composed by Kenneth A. Robinson, class of 1914. The college's rowing club competes in the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Chase Regatta annually. The rowing club also competes as a member of the American Collegiate Rowing Association; the women's team won its first national championship in 2023. The field hockey team are four-time NCAA Division III National Champions; winning

884-533: The United Daughters of the Confederacy . The award, however, was discontinued in 2015, with the current college president citing it as inappropriate because it was named after someone "whose mission was to preserve and institutionalize slavery". Although Bowdoin's Medical School of Maine closed its doors in 1921, it produced Augustus Stinchfield , who received his M.D. in 1868 and became one of

936-610: The "leading families" of the orchestra, and they helped him get support. During his tenure from 1938 until 1951, there was an increase in donations, supporters, and volunteers which were all essential to its success. In 1952, the concertmaster and associate conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra , Richard Burgin , became the PSO's conductor. His legacy was to help improve the string section . Rouben Gregorian took over in 1958, after Burgin's administration ended. He

988-684: The 'Bowdoin Cadets'. From its founding, Bowdoin was known to educate the sons of the political elite and "catered very largely to the wealthy conservative from the state of Maine." During the first half of the 19th century, Bowdoin required of its students a certificate of "good moral character" as well as knowledge of Latin and Ancient Greek , geography, algebra, and the major works of Cicero , Xenophon , Virgil and Homer . Harriet Beecher Stowe started writing her influential anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin , in Brunswick while her husband

1040-529: The 10,930 applications received in the class of 2027. U.S. News & World Report classifies Bowdoin as "most selective". Of enrolling students, 89% are in the top 10% of their high school graduating class. Although Bowdoin does not require the SAT in admissions, all students may submit a score upon application. The middle 50% SAT range for the verbal and math sections of the SAT is 660–750 and 660–750, respectively—numbers of only those submitting scores during

1092-859: The 18th century. Prominent buildings on the campus include the college's oldest building, Massachusetts Hall , the Parker Cleaveland House , and the Harriet Beecher Stowe House . The campus has two museums. The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is in the Walker Art Building and the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum is in the Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies. The 118-acre (48 ha) Schiller Coastal Studies Center

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1144-542: The 1970s but were reinstated by a faculty majority vote in 1981 due to an initiative by oral communication and film professor Barbara Kaster. She insisted that distribution requirements would ensure students a more well-rounded education in a diversity of fields and therefore present them with more career possibilities. The requirements of at least two courses in each of the categories of Natural Sciences /mathematics, social and behavioral sciences , humanities / Fine Arts , and foreign studies (including languages) took effect for

1196-580: The Global21 organization of college magazines, has been publishing since 2012. The Bowdoin Globalist transitioned to a digital-only platform in 2015 and changed its name to The Bowdoin Review . The college's radio station, WBOR , has been operating since the early 1940s. In 1999, The Bowdoin Cable Network was formed, producing a weekly newscast and several student-created shows per semester. Six

1248-471: The Institute of International Education. Other notable Bowdoin faculty include (or have included): Edville Gerhardt Abbott , Charles Beitz , John Bisbee , Paul Chadbourne , Thomas Cornell , Kristen R. Ghodsee , Eddie Glaude , Joseph E. Johnson , Richard Morgan , Elliott Schwartz , Kenneth Chenault , and Scott Sehon . In the 2022 edition of the U.S. News & World Report rankings, Bowdoin

1300-469: The Northern Ireland peace process. In 1970, the college became one of a very limited number of liberal arts colleges to make the SAT optional in the admissions process, and in 1971, after nearly 180 years as a small men's college, Bowdoin admitted its first class of women. On February 28, 1997 Bowdoin's Board of Trustees approved a plan to phase out fraternities on campus, replacing them with

1352-717: The Polar Bears. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III level, primarily competing in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), of which they were a founding member in 1971. The mascot for all Bowdoin College athletic teams is the Polar bear , generally referred to in the plural, i.e., "The Polar Bears." The uniform color

1404-581: The Portland Symphony Chamber Orchestra. His administration lasted from 1976 until 1986. Toshiyuki Shimada took over in 1986. He tightened the orchestra's grasp of symphonic masterworks and deepened its commitment to youth and family programming, while building higher on the firm music foundations left by his predecessors. Robert Moody was the 12th music director of the Portland Symphony from 2008 until 2018. He

1456-841: The Sustainable Endowments Institute. In 2003, Bowdoin committed to achieving LEED -certification for all new campus buildings. The college has since completed construction on Osher and West residency halls, the Peter Buck Center for Health & Fitness, the Sidney J. Watson Arena , 216 Maine Street, and 52 Harpswell all of which have attained LEED, Silver LEED or Gold LEED certification. The new dorms partially use collected rainwater as part of an advanced flushing system. Bowdoin College's main campus in Brunswick ranges over an area of 215 acres (87 ha) and includes 120 buildings, some of which date back to

1508-588: The Treasury during the Lincoln Administration . With strained slave-relations between political parties, President Franklin Pierce appointed Jefferson Davis as his Secretary of War , and the college awarded the soon-to-be President of the Confederacy an honorary degree. The Jefferson Davis Award was given to a student who excelled in legal studies after a donation was given to the college by

1560-503: The admissions process. The middle 50% ACT range is 30–33. The April 17, 2008, edition of The Economist noted Bowdoin in an article on university admissions: "So-called 'almost-Ivies' such as Bowdoin and Middlebury also saw record low admission rates this year (18% each). It is now as hard to get into Bowdoin, says the college's admissions director, as it was to get into Princeton in the 1970s." Many students apply for financial aid, and around 85% of those who apply to receive aid. Bowdoin

1612-457: The bottom 60%. Although Bowdoin once had a reputation for homogeneity (both ethnically and socioeconomically), a diversity campaign has increased the percentage of students of color in recent classes to more than 31%. In fact, admission of minorities goes back at least as far as John Brown Russwurm 1826, Bowdoin's first Black college graduate and the third Black graduate of any American college. Course distribution requirements were abolished in

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1664-502: The campus set heating point from 72 to 68 degrees, and by adhering to its own Green Design Standards in renovations. In addition, Bowdoin runs a single stream recycling program, and its dining services department has begun composting food waste and unbleached paper napkins. Bowdoin received an overall "B−" grade for its sustainability efforts on the College Sustainability Report Card 2009 published by

1716-479: The class of 1987 and have been gradually amended since then. Current requirements require one course each in natural sciences, quantitative reasoning, visual and performing arts, international perspectives, and difference, power, and inequity. A small writing-intensive course, called a first-year seminar, is also required. The most popular majors, by 2021 graduates, were: In 1990, the Bowdoin faculty voted to change

1768-839: The co-founders of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota . In 1877, the college would go on to graduate Charles Morse , the American banker who established a near-monopoly of the ice business in New York, which directly led to the financial Panic of 1907 . The college went on to educate and eventually graduate Arctic explorers Robert E. Peary , class of 1877, and Donald B. MacMillan , class of 1898. Robert Peary named Bowdoin Fjord and Bowdoin Glacier after his alma mater. Peary led

1820-443: The college offers a far broader array of recreational opportunities: "If we could have looked forward in time to Bowdoin's standard of living today, we would have been astounded." Since abolishing Greek fraternities in the late 1990s, Bowdoin has switched to a system in which entering students are assigned a "college house" affiliation correlating with their first-year dormitory. While six houses were originally established following

1872-465: The college was on track to meet the 28% own source reduction target, and efforts have continued in the areas of energy conservation, efficiency upgrades and transitioning to lower carbon fuel sources. Bowdoin's facilities are heated by an on-campus heating plant that burns natural gas. Between 2002 and 2008, Bowdoin College decreased its CO 2 emissions by 40%. It achieved that reduction by switching from No. 6 to No. 2 oil in its heating plant, reducing

1924-531: The construction of two new dorms, two were added effective in the fall of 2007, and one added in the fall of 2019, bringing the current total to eight: Baxter, Quinby, MacMillan, Howell, Helmreich, Reed, Burnett, and Boody-Johnson. The college houses are physical buildings around campus that host parties and other events throughout the year. Those students who choose not to live in their affiliated house retain their affiliation and are considered members throughout their Bowdoin career. The largest student group on campus

1976-577: The first successful expedition to the North Pole in 1908, and MacMillan, a member of Peary's crew, explored Greenland , Baffin Island , and Labrador in the schooner Bowdoin between 1908 and 1954. Wallace H. White, Jr. , class of 1899, served as Senate Minority Leader from 1944 to 1947 and Senate Majority Leader from 1947 to 1949; George J. Mitchell , class of 1954, served as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995 before assuming an active role in

2028-458: The first woman ever to assume presidency of the college. The acceptance rate for the class of 2027 was 8.0%. The applicant pool consisted of 10,930 candidates, up 16% from 9,376 for the class of 2026. The college received just over 13,200 applications for the class of 2028 – the highest application numbers in the college's history and a continuation of the rise in applications over the past two years. Applications increased by about 20%, surpassing

2080-425: The four-level grading system to the traditional A, B, C, D, and F system. The previous system, consisting of high honors, honors, pass, and fail, was devised primarily to de-emphasize the importance of grades and to reduce competition. In 2002, the faculty decided to change the grading system to incorporate plus and minus grades. In 2006, Bowdoin was named a "Top Producer of Fulbright Awards for American Students" by

2132-684: The now-defunct Athenian Society, included Nathaniel Hawthorne and Franklin Pierce as members. Bowdoin competes in the Standard Platform League of RoboCup as the Northern Bites, where teams compete with five autonomous Aldebaran Nao robots. Bowdoin won the world championship in RoboCup 2007, beating Carnegie Mellon University , and finished 2nd in the 2015 US Open. Bowdoin's student newspaper, The Bowdoin Orient ,

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2184-410: The orchestra and all its instruments, including two pianos. In 1933, a school of music supervisor, Charles A. Warren, from Brunswick took over for a year. From 1935 to 1937, Paul E. Melrose was the main conductor. He was part of the 5th US Infantry Band at Fort Williams as the warrant officer and band leader. Dr. Russell Ames Cook was the first out-of-state conductor. An outgoing man, he befriended

2236-529: The plan, general improvements to Maine's electricity grid will account for 7% of carbon reductions, commuting improvements will account for 1%, and the purchase of renewable energy credits will account for 41%. The plan includes the construction of a solar thermal system, part of the "Thorne Solar Hot Water Project"; cogeneration in the central heating plant (for which Bowdoin received $ 400,000 in federal grants); lighting upgrades to all campus buildings; and modern monitoring systems of energy usage on campus. In 2017,

2288-469: The school mascot was selected as a polar bear in 1913 to honor Robert Peary , a Bowdoin alumnus who led the first successful expedition to the North Pole. Between the years 1821 and 1921, Bowdoin operated a medical school called the "Medical School of Maine." The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River . In addition to its Brunswick campus, Bowdoin owns

2340-510: The title in 2007 (defeating Middlebury College ), 2008 (defeating Tufts University ), 2010 (defeating Messiah College ), and 2013 (defeating Salisbury University ). The men's tennis team won the 2016 NCAA Division III Championship after defeating Emory University in Kalamazoo, Michigan . Principal athletic facilities include Whittier Field (capacity: 9,000), Morrell Gymnasium (1,500), Sidney J. Watson Arena (2,300), Pickard Fields, and

2392-635: Was a champion of new music, particularly the work of Mason Bates , and began the Discovery Concert series for families. Eckart Preu has been named the 13th music director of the Portland Symphony and began his tenurein the 2019–2020 season. Other guest conductors: Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( / ˈ b oʊ d ɪ n / ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine . When Bowdoin

2444-645: Was a graduate of Central College in Iran, where he had been the co-founder and conductor of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra . As the main conductor of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, he finalized the enactment of a fully paid orchestra in 1959. In 1962, Arthur Bennett Lipkin began his tenure. He was the first resident conductor and began the youth concerts. The orchestra was involved with Voice of America broadcasts, including

2496-510: Was an early benefactor. Bowdoin began to develop in the 1820s, a decade in which Maine became an independent state as a result of the Missouri Compromise and graduated U.S. President Franklin Pierce . The college also graduated two literary philosophers, the writers Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , both of whom graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1825. Pierce and Hawthorne began an official militia company called

2548-667: Was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts . The college offers 35 majors and 40 minors, as well as several joint engineering programs with Columbia , Caltech , Dartmouth College , and the University of Maine . The college was a founding member of its athletic conference , the New England Small College Athletic Conference , and the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium , an athletic conference and inter-library exchange with Bates College and Colby College . Bowdoin has over 30 varsity teams, and

2600-461: Was in command of the 20th Maine in defense of Little Round Top . Major General Oliver Otis Howard , class of 1850, led the Freedmen's Bureau after the war and later founded Howard University ; Massachusetts Governor John Andrew , class of 1837, was responsible for the formation of the 54th Massachusetts ; and William P. Fessenden (1823) and Hugh McCulloch (1827) both served as Secretary of

2652-419: Was ranked tied for 6th best overall among liberal arts colleges in the United States, tied at 3rd for "Best Undergraduate Teaching", 7th in "Best Value Schools", and tied at 23rd for "Most Innovative Schools". In the 2022 Forbes college rankings, Bowdoin was ranked 48th overall among 498 universities, liberal arts colleges, and service academies and 7th among private liberal arts colleges. Bowdoin College

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2704-458: Was teaching at the college, and Brigadier General (and Brevet Major General ) Joshua Chamberlain , a Bowdoin alumnus and professor, was present at the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House in 1865. Chamberlain, a Medal of Honor recipient who later served as governor of Maine , adjutant-general of Maine, and president of Bowdoin, fought at Gettysburg , where he

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