Yaroslavl Philharmonic Orchestra

The senior symphonic ensemble of the Upper Volga holds a regional title — Governor's Orchestra — and works from the philharmonic society in Yaroslavl, a merchant city at the confluence of the Kotorosl and the Volga whose seventeenth-century churches carry a UNESCO listing. Its year divides between subscription seasons at home and touring the towns of the region. Programmes lean, as one would expect, on the Russian symphonic line from Glinka and Tchaikovsky through to Shostakovich, with the European classics beside them and choral-symphonic evenings shared with local choirs. The Yaroslavl Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1944 by Alexander Umansky. Its conductors have included Yuri Aranovich, Daniil Tyulin, Vladimir Ponkin and Igor Golovchin. Murad Annamamedov took charge in 1994; during his tenure the ensemble received the designation Governor's Orchestra in 1996 and the title Academic in 1999.