Founded in 1880, the St Louis Symphony is the second-oldest orchestra in the country and is widely considered one of the world’s finest. In September 2005, internationally acclaimed conductor David Robertson became the 12th music director and second American-born conductor in the orchestra’s history. In its 132nd season, the St Louis Symphony continues to strive for artistic excellence, fiscal responsibility and community connection. The St Louis Symphony is one of only a handful of major American orchestras invited to perform regularly at the prestigious Carnegie Hall. Recordings by the symphony have been honored with six GRAMMY^® Awards and 56 GRAMMY^® nominations over the years. The symphony has embraced technological advances in music distribution by offering recordings over the internet. The St Louis Symphony download initiative includes live recordings of John Adams’s Harmonielehre, Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No 1, with Christian Tetzlaff, and Scriabin’s The Poem of Ecstasy available exclusively on iTunes and Amazon.com. In 2009, the symphony’s Nonesuch recording of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic and Guide to Strange Places reached No 2 on the Billboard rankings for classical music, and was named “Best CD of the Decade” by the The Times of London. In September 2012, the St Louis Symphony embarked on its first European tour with music director David Robertson. The symphony visited international festivals in Berlin and Lucerne, with stops in Paris and London as well, performing works by Beethoven, Brahms, Sibelius, Schoenberg, Gershwin, Ives, and Elliott Carter. Christian Tetzlaff joined the symphony as featured soloist. In June 2008, the St Louis Symphony launched Building Our Business, which takes a proactive, two-pronged approach: build audiences and re-invigorate the St Louis brand making the symphony and Powell Hall the place to be; and build the donor base for enhanced institutional commitment and donations. This is all part of a larger strategic plan adopted in May 2009 that includes new core ideology and a 10-year strategic vision focusing on artistic and institutional excellence, doubling the existing audience, and revenue growth across all key operating areas.