The orchestra was founded by Cameron Baird, Frederick Slee, and Samuel P. Capen in 1934. Past music directors of the Philharmonic include William Steinberg, Josef Krips, Willis Page, Lukas Foss, Michael Tilson Thomas, Semyon Bychkov, and Maximiano Valdés. The current music director is JoAnn Falletta, the orchestra's first female music director. John Morris Russell is the Principal Pops Conductor. Other celebrated conductors who have led the orchestra include Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sir Neville Marriner, and Henry Mancini. Previous pops conductors include Doc Severinsen, the resident pops conductor in the 1990s, and Marvin Hamlisch, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, A Chorus Line.
