Sherman Symphony Orchestra

Celebrating its 61st season this year, the Sherman Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is a vital part of the Sherman community and has been dedicated to making music accessible to everyone since it was founded in 1966 under Cecil Isaac.
During the 2026-2027 season the Sherman Symphony Orchestra will perform its 25th annual Children’s Educational Concerts. These free concerts take place each November, and reach over 3,000 local fifth-graders each year. Since these concerts began in 2002, more than 30,000 students have participated. This program is offered at no cost to participating students and schools because the SSO believes music education should be available to all students. This is the only program of its kind in North Texas, and interest continues to grow along with the population.

The SSO creates a collective civic identity by presenting live concerts and serving as a primary resource for music education. In 1992, Maestro Daniel Dominick became the music director. Ten years later, the SSO began performing in the 1,300-seat Kidd-Key Auditorium, which is located in the Sherman Cultural District. In 2012, the SSO began broadcasting its classical concerts monthly on CBS-12 KXII in order to reach a greater audience, including those who are unable to attend. The Sherman Symphony Orchestra offers free student tickets to all of its Classical Series Concerts. Since 2019 the SSO has offered a string instrument coaching program at Sherman ISD called SSO Scholars in which SSO musicians teach specialized classes string students, and the SSO expanded this program in 2024 to include high school band classes.  In 2022, the SSO launched Musical Chairs, an interactive, in-school presentation for elementary and preschool students in Sherman and Denison; this program now reaches up to 1,000 children each year. Also in 2022, the Symphony partnered with Austin College to establish Austin College Summer Music Camp (ACSMC), an intensive five-day program for middle and high school band, orchestra, and choir students. The only summer music program of its kind in Texoma, in 2026, ACSMC celebrates its 5th year in operation. The Symphony's more than 80 musicians perform eight concerts per year. Kidd-Key Auditorium is home to the Classical Series Concerts, and Austin College hosts the annual Christmas Pops concerts.