02/15/2026
On This Day in Wilkes-Barre History — February 14, 1910: On Valentine's Day evening 1910, music-loving people of Wilkes-Barre received a gift — the debut concert of the Wilkes-Barre Symphony Orchestra at Irem Temple.
The orchestra was the creation of Charles F. Pokorney, a well-known violin teacher and musician who had performed locally with Oppenheim's orchestra and Alexander's band. For years, the idea of a homegrown symphony orchestra had been discussed but never realized. Pokorney made it happen, assembling a 65-piece ensemble in just three months. Forty of the musicians were his own former or current pupils, joined by the best professional talent available in the region.
The program was ambitious for a fledgling orchestra: Verdi's overture from "Nabucodonosor," Drigo's "Serenade — Les Millions d'Arlequin," all four movements of Haydn's beloved "Surprise" Symphony, and the March from Raff's Symphonie Lenore. Two young violin soloists were featured — Miss Ruth Smith and Master Frank Deutsch, just eleven or twelve years old, who drew enthusiastic applause. The evening also included the first public performance of "Bird in the Tree," a valse lente composed by Prof. J.I. Alexander of Wilkes-Barre, who himself played cello in the orchestra. Miss Florence L. Griesmer served as accompanist.
The next day's review declared the audience "most agreeably surprised." The instrumentation was praised as being as complete as that of some of the larger symphony orchestras, with remarkably good quality and balance. While attendance was modest, the enthusiasm more than made up for it. The paper declared the orchestra's permanence was now assured.
This was no money-making venture. The younger members had agreed to personally cover any deficit. It was, as one preview put it, about giving Wilkes-Barre a 65-piece symphony orchestra "to be entirely our own" — and about giving the valley's many young violin students, who were never heard because no suitable opportunity existed, a stage worthy of their work.
Source: Times Leader February 15, 1910
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The Irem Temple Restoration Project welcomes donations and support. Visit https://iremtemplerestorationproject.com to learn how you can help preserve this irreplaceable piece of Wilkes-Barre history. Today, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic—is the region’s premier professional symphony, jointly serving Wilkes‑Barre and Scranton with full‑orchestra concerts, chamber performances, and extensive community outreach. To support them visit https://nepaphil.org
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Pictured a 1909 photo of Irem Temple.
