The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, now in its 87th season, was founded as the Palestine Broadcasting Service Orchestra in the late 1930s. In 1948 it became the national radio orchestra and was known as the “Kol Israel Orchestra”. In the 1970s, the orchestra was expanded into the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Israel Broadcasting Authority. As a radio symphony orchestra, the majority of the concerts which the orchestra holds at its resident hall – the Henry Crown Auditorium – are recorded and broadcast over (Kan) Kol Ha’musika station.
The current Music Director of the JSO is Maestro Julian Rachlin. The orchestra has had nine musical directors hitherto: Mendi Rodan, Lukas Foss, Gary Bertini, Lawrence Foster, David Shallon, Frédéric Chaslin and Steven Sloane.
The orchestra maintains a varied repertoire which ranges from the Baroque and the Classical periods through the Romantic period, extending to contemporary composers, many of whom have received their Israeli premières with the JSO.
The orchestra is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport and the Jerusalem Municipality.
