The Norwood Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1923 as the Unley Orchestral Society by its first conductor, Norman Sellick, L.A.B., a prominent violin teacher in the Unley area. His objective was to provide his students and other members of the community with the chance to develop their orchestral playing skills, which is still one of the orchestra's aims today. The Unley Council provided the Banq
ueting Room of the Unley City Hall for orchestral rehearsals, a storage area for the orchestra's equipment and also a small subsidy. After 34 years at Unley, the year 1956 heralded an era of change for the Unley Orchestral Society. The committee approached the Corporation of the City of Kensington and Norwood, who were very keen to have an orchestra based in their area. The council subsequently offered to accommodate the orchestra and provide an annual grant and early in 1957, the members of the orchestra commenced their rehearsals on Tuesday evenings under the Grandstand at the Norwood Oval. The Certificate of Incorporation records that during a meeting held on May 16th 1957, the members of the orchestra agreed to use the name Kensington and Norwood City Orchestral Society Inc. The orchestra adopted a new Constitution, and the Mayor of Kensington and Norwood was designated as the orchestra's Patron, which is still the custom to this day.
The Orchestra is now officially named The Norwood Symphony Orchestral Society Inc but is more commonly known as The Norwood Symphony Orchestraand is based at the Norwood Town Hall. The Orchestra presents four concerts in the Norwood Concert Hall each year with additional concerts given at various other venues. The orchestra has been conducted over the years by a number of distinguished musicians, including W. Nelson Burton, Gabor Reeves, Harold Fairhurst, Joannes Roose, Richard Hornung, Thomas Lambert, M.V.O., Verdon Williams, A.M., Kenneth Clarke, Sam Bor and David Reid. The Orchestra is currently under the direction of Michael Milton as of the beginning of 2016.
