The spotlight for the Saginaw Valley Concert Association travels back to the 1930's when a group of Saginaw citizens who wanted to bring outstanding musical talent to our community, formed the Saginaw Community Concert Association in association with and managed through the national community concert organization in New York City. The early 1930's concerts were held in the old Masonic Temple on the corner of North Washington and Johnson, the present site of the Dow Events Center Early artists includedNelson Eddy, Nathan Milstein, Lotte Lehman and Gregor Piatigorsky.
In 1937, concerts were moved to the larger City Auditorium on South Washington. Marion Anderson, The New York Philhamonic Orchestra, Yehudi Menuhin, Leontyne Price, The Joffrey Ballet, several full opera companies, The Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Minneapolis Symphony Orchestras, Robert Merrill, William Warfield, The Robert Shaw Chorale and Orchestra and pianists Artur Rubinstein and Van Cliburn were among those that appeared in concert at this building.
In the fall of 1972, Saginaw Community Concerts began presenting events at the new Heritage Theater at the new Saginaw Civic Center. The association continued bringing quality entertainment to the area with Broadway musicals, national as well as international musical ensembles, vocalists, and dance groups for many years. However, due to changing live entertainment dynamics, the national community concert organization disbanded in 2003, leaving us without a support organization. However, unlike the associations in several nearby cities, we were able to continue to present successful concert seasons.
Today, our association is operating on a fully independent basis. The Saginaw Valley Concert Association and its board of directors meet to hire artists from all over the world, with concerts presented in the majestic Temple Theatre.
To view the entire list of performances, go to the "Past Performances" page.