Founded in 1981 by Lajos Balogh, Portland Festival Symphony (PFS) was formed to celebrate Maestro Balogh’s American citizenship and also to express gratitude to his new country by bringing FREE orchestra concerts to Portland Metro area parks. PFS is unique for being the only professional symphony orchestra that brings the music to local neighborhood parks for easy access by local residents, friends and families in a public setting.
The orchestra is composed of up to 65 of Portland’s finest classical musicians from the Oregon Symphony, Oregon Ballet Theater Orchestra, Portland Opera Orchestra, and American Federation of Musicians Local 99. The Portland Festival Symphony performs a series of free concerts in the mid to late summer months at public parks throughout the Portland metro area. Maestro Balogh along with Conductor Cameron May encourage audience participation. Children are given toy flutes and other instruments along with a bit of instruction in order to “join” the orchestra by playing along at a certain time. A typical season has seen over 15,000 people enjoying the various PFS concerts. We hope to see you again, or for the first time this year!
Portland Festival Symphony is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Mission statement
To present free symphony concerts in Portland area parks for the benefit of the general public, especially children.
2015-2018 Strategic plan
Read the strategic plan here.
Conductors
We are fortunate to have two talented and dynamic conductors — you can read about them here.
Board of Directors
We couldn’t operate without the dedication and work of our Board of Directors. Learn more about our Board members here.
Advisory Board
Many thanks to our advisory board for their support of our mission. View advisory board members here.