About Us

The original idea for the Monroe Summer Orchestra was conceived by co-founders Avinash ('Avi') and Anand Veeraraghav in June of 2014. When the two of them were preparing to graduate from Masuk High School, they started thinking about orchestras that could cater to non-professional musicians - i.e. anyone who did not choose to pursue music in college for a career. The first iteration of this idea was a Masuk alumni orchestra of sorts, although they were informed by their orchestra teacher, Lisa Homann, that most students stop playing upon graduating high school, so such an idea was unlikely to bear any fruit. As the two of them did play their instruments as undergraduates in both of UConn's orchestras, the idea went dormant for a while. 

​

In 2019, the two went with their father to see a performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana by the Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestras. After the concert, their father recalled how the two had been leaders in the UConn Chamber Orchestra Club, and asked them if they'd consider starting an orchestra in Monroe. The two started to think about their old idea again, and figured it was worth giving it a go. However, a major roadblock would come in the form of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the following year.

​

Avi's move to Ohio for medical school in 2021 would further put the idea on hold. Medical school did not go the way Avi had hoped it would - his time at the school was over come June of 2022 - but he decided to remain in Ohio for a little longer. It was in this time that he joined the Parma Symphony Orchestra. Through the PSO, Avi saw what an orchestra made up of people from all stripes - a real community orchestra - would resemble.

​

After Avi returned to Monroe in 2023, the two decided to join the local Hamden Symphony Orchestra and have been members since. As their first season with the HSO progressed, it dawned on them how most orchestras take the summer off. This allowed for the concept of an orchestra in Monroe to have a new birth - take the form of a seasonal orchestra instead of a year-round one that would have to compete with others.  Come the spring of 2024, the two decided that it was time to really make their idea come to life. 

​

In April of 2024, after being advised by Shannon Webster, the president of CT ASTA, to connect with Dana Saccomano of the CT Strings Teachers page on Facebook, the two were able to put out a recruitment notice: they were looking for a conductor to lead this organization. Only a few hours after its posting did a major breakthrough come in: Anthony Granata saw the post and quickly connected with them. In time, the three discussed what a community orchestra in Monroe would resemble and got to work. 

​

Among Avi, Anand, and Anthony, none of them were sure on how many people would join the MSO for its first season - each one expected something between 10 and 15 people. They were all proven very mistaken, with the MSO claiming 41 musicians for its inaugural concert. The group had its first rehearsal on Monday, June 2nd, 2025 at Jockey Hollow Middle School. After nearly two months' worth of hard work, it had its first concert on Sunday, July 27th - Humble Beginnings: A Monroe Mixtape was a resounding success, with more than 150 people in the audience.

​

Avi, Anand, Anthony, and the musicians of the MSO eagerly await to see where future seasons will take the group!