Missouri Classical Music News

They come from Chillicothe, Carrollton, Trenton and other central Missouri towns better known for their hog farms and meat packing plants than as a fertile spawning ground for musical virtuosos.

Doctors, lawyers, teachers, housewives, retirees or third-shift workers, they share a singular bond: a commitment to orchestral and symphonic performance that has made Marshall, with just over 12,000 residents, a classical musical Mecca.

The Marshall Philharmonic Orchestra just completed its 43rd year as an ensemble. Local historians have traced the roots of organized community bands in the town one hour east of Kansas City back to 1871.


Since 1934, residents have paid a one-tenth of a cent ‘‘band tax'' to support the orchestra and the town's municipal band.