Tradition

Findlay's orchestra program enjoys a rich tradition that dates back more than a century to 1905. The 1907 Findlay High School yearbook provides the first mention of the school's orchestra program. The yearbook states: "It has been the desire of the school for many years to possess a good musical organization, but it was 1905 before an orchestra was finally numbered among the associations in Findlay High … One cannot praise too much the work of the individual players nor the work of the organization as a whole. The music is always excellent and delights those who hear it very much."

A Findlay Courier article in the 1980s states that Glenn Kershner—a young graduate of Findlay College— was Findlay's first orchestra director. "Upon leaving Findlay in the early 1900s, he literally became acitizen of the world, residing for times in California, Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, and traveling the world as a motion picture cinematographer, musician, airplane pilot, newspaper columnist, poet, author and sculptor." Kershner lived to be 100 years old

Findlay's orchestra program has enjoyed many exceptional directors who have built the program over the years. Orchestra alumni recall these directors with fondness. They include: Oliver Schumaker 1939-1961; Ralph Shell 1947-1977; Cliff Hite, Sr. 1943-1976; and David Hanson 1968-2003.

The largest FHS Symphony Orchestra in school history was the 1997-98 group that numbered 128 students.

The FHS Symphony Orchestra has received 17 Superior ratings (the highest rating possible) and 8 Excellent ratings in the past 25 years of attending the OMEA State Orchestra Competition.