Joseph Otten,
Founding Conductor 1880 - 1894

A native of Holland, Joseph Otten became the director of the St. Louis Choral Society and later the St. Louis Choral-Symphony Society at the age of 28. A student at the Liege Royal Conservatory of Music in Holland and with Albert Becker in Berlin, Joseph Otten came to St. Louis to direct a small choir which disbanded after six weeks. In an attempt to form a group he could conduct, Otten gathered a group of interested citizens and established the St. Louis Choral Society in 1880. In the 1881-82 season the chorus of 80 was joined by an orchestra of 31 members. A later merger with members of the disbanded Musical Union orchestra brought about the unofficial creation of the St. Louis Choral-Symphony Society. In 1893 the St. Louis Choral-Symphony Society was formally incorporated, still emphasizing the choral aspects of their season which, at the time, were more popular. During Maestro Otten's tenure the seasons reached a height of nine subscription concerts. With an accumulating deficit in their fourteenth season the board of directors cut the subscription season to just seven concerts. Disgruntled with these cuts, Joseph Otten resigned at the end of the 1893-94 season.