&about=The Kenai Peninsula Orchestra (KPO) grew out of pit orchestas that had gathered in winter for Pier One Theatre musicals since 1973, and was the inspiration of flautist Terry Kallenberg in 1983.  The Homer Council on the Arts, with Mary Epperson as president of the board, provided organizational and moral support while Bob Richardson, a local music teacher, theatre enthusiast and former conductor of the Redoubt Chamber Orchestra, served as KPO's first conductor.  He guided the orchestra through seven seasons and formalized our association with Pier One Theatre, as their musical branch. Mark Robinson joined the orchestra as the Artistic Director and conductor in 1989.
Nancy Chambers served as concertmaster from 1984 to 2005, when Sue Biggs stepped in.  From the very first year Maria Allison has been instrumental in making the peninsula-wide effort work.  Sometime around 1993 Laura Norton put down her clarinet (mostly) and began managing KPO.  In 1998, a small planning committee of dedicated players (which evolved into the current board of directors) made the decision to create the Summer String Festival, as it was originally named, and to maintain a year-round season.

The Kenai Peninsula Orchestra combines players from all over the Kenai Peninsula.  Musicians from other areas of Alaska and beyond join in when they are needed or able.  Rehearsals usually involve round-trip travel of 70 miles or more; seldom are all the players together before a concert!  The musicians in the orchestra are all volunteers and generally are not professionals, although some have been or could be if they chose.  They play for the love of music and the joy of ensemble work.

The behind the scenes workers are also mainly volunteers.  KPO enters into contracts to provide reimbursement to key individuals whenever possible, but no KPO production has ever folded for lack of salaries!  It is the dedication of our volunteers that makes KPO so successful.

Our yearly seasons have generally included participation in pit orchestras for area musicals, the Summer Music Festival,  a family concert, chamber concert fundraisers, and a winter or spring concert with the community chorus or other organization such as the Anchorage Civic Orchestra.  Through the years, KPO has hosted many world-class guest artists, from Broadway vocalists and a Czech cellist to the Boston Jazz Pops Ensemble.  We have joined with the Homer High School Concert Choir and Kenai Peninsula Community Chorus to perform the Mozart Requiem, the Brahms Requiem, the Vivaldi Gloria, Carl Orff's Carmina Burana and Handel's Messiah.  In 2002 KPO participated in the international effort called the Rolling Requiem in memory of the 9/11 victims, as the sole representative of the Alaska time zone.

The 2007 25th anniversary season was highlighted by the world premiere of Adrienne Albert's KPO-commissioned work, An Alaskan Symphony, as well as a mammoth presentation of Handel's Messiah, with approximately 270 performers.  We also bid a sad farewell to Mark Robinson as artistic director.

This season we will have the pleasure of playing under three guest conductors: Tammy Vollom-Matturro, Linn Weeda, and Sue Biggs.  We will also welcome the Madison String Quartet as our faculty for the Summer Music Festival.