Buffalo Philharmonic earns seventh place in international favorite orchestra poll

After a month of voting, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra has earned seventh place in The World's Favourite Orchestra poll, held by online classical concert finder Bachtrack.com.

The Cleveland Orchestra took first place, with 20.3 percent of the vote. The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra received 3.9 percent of the vote.

The RTÉ Concert Orchestra of Ireland and the Berlin Philharmonic finished in second and third place, respectively. Other entries in the top 20 include London Symphony Orchestra (fourth place), the Czech Philharmonic (eighth), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam (ninth), and the Video Game Orchestra (15th). The Minnesota Orchestra, despite still being locked out, made it to No. 22.

Since voting began on Friday, Sept. 6, the poll attracted interest from all around the world, with many orchestras actively encouraging their fans to vote online. Bachtrack received 11,895 votes for 417 orchestras from 97 countries.

Susan Schwartz, director of marketing and communications for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, said, "The passionate support of our audience has allowed us to achieve great things, from presenting world premieres to breaking the hometown attendance record at the 'Spring For Music' festival at Carnegie Hall. Our recordings also bring the artistry of the BPO to a worldwide audience. We thank everyone who voted for us for their assistance in bringing the orchestra greater international recognition, and we hope this will encourage even more music lovers to get to know the BPO."

Alison Karlin, director of Bachtrack, said, "I am absolutely delighted that orchestras from around the globe, large and small, took our competition in the spirit in which it was intended and encouraged their audiences to take part. Hopefully this poll will further encourage those same fans to remind themselves why these orchestras are so dear to their hearts, by going to hear them play this season."