After 65 Years, Broderyck Olson Takes His Final Bow

The longest tenure of any professional orchestra musician in North America has come to an end. After an incredible 65 years with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, violinist Broderyck "Broddy" Olson recently took his final bow.

The son of Ray LeRoy Olson, a founding member of the ESO in 1952, Olson's connection to the orchestra spans nearly its entire history. Olson joined the orchestra’s first violin section in 1961 and has remained a fixture of the organization through generations of musicians, audiences, and artistic leaders. 

Throughout his remarkable career, Olson performed in thousands of concerts, participated in the ESO's legendary 1971 recording with Procol Harum, appeared in all 48 broadcasts of ITV’s In Concert series, and helped shape the next generation of musicians through decades of teaching in Edmonton. 

"Broddy's dedication to music, his colleagues, and our community is extraordinary," says Anne-Marie Leenhouts-Petrov, President and CEO of the ESO and Winspear Centre. "Generations of musicians and audience members have been touched by his passion for music, and we are deeply grateful for his remarkable service to the ESO and the city of Edmonton." 

"Few musicians have the opportunity to devote 65 years of their lives to a single orchestra," says Jean-Marie Zeitouni, ESO Music Director. "On behalf of everyone at the ESO, I thank him for his extraordinary contribution and wish him every happiness in retirement." 

Over more than six decades, Olson has witnessed the orchestra's growth from its early years through the opening of the Winspear Centre and into the modern era of the ESO. Olson leaves behind a legacy measured not only by years of service, but by the countless students, colleagues, and audience members whose lives he has touched through music. 

The orchestra will pay special tribute to Olson and his extraordinary legacy during Symphony Under the Sky in Hawrelak Park later this summer.