The Olathe Community Orchestra traces its roots to the early 1970s, when Jack L. Herriman, then-conductor of the Kansas City Youth Symphony, organized a group of local amateur musicians into an ensemble called the Olathe Civic Orchestra, with the express purpose of playing the great orchestral masterworks for the community.  The Civic Orchestra functioned intermittently until 1985, when the Olathe Junior Service League, led by community activist Verna Rowland, determined to establish the orchestra as an ongoing and integral part of the Olathe arts scene, changing the name of the group to the Community Orchestra and naming Steven Smith, an area musician and teacher with a graduate degree in conducting, as music director.The newly-invigorated Olathe Community Orchestra gained further support through the establishment of the Olathe Arts Alliance, an umbrella organization sponsoring all the major civic arts groups in Olathe.  The orchestra continued to increase its visibility and service to the community throughout the 1990s with frequent appearances at civic functions such as Old Settlers’ Days, Independence Day and WinterFest celebrations, and the Hidden Glen Arts Festival, in addition to its regular concert performances.  With the renovation of the auditorium at the Millcreek Vocational Center in downtown Olathe, the OCO in the late 1990s adopted the beautiful Osborne Performing Arts Center as its home.The 21st Century finds the OCO as robust as ever, continuing to provide enthusiastic community musicians the opportunity to perform great classical and pop orchestral music for their fellow citizens.  The orchestra has expanded its community outreach with special programs at different venues, such as opera concerts featuring vocalist Brian Steele and others at Grace United Methodist Church, and a recent Hispanic-music concert at the La Fiesta club and restaurant, and the orchestra often gives special performances as a string ensemble or an authentic Ragtime orchestra.  The OCO also continues to provide talented high school musicians the chance to perform as soloist with the group with its annual Concerto Competition.The Olathe Community Orchestra meets at 7:30 on Thursday evenings during the school year at the Osborne Performing Arts Center in the Millcreek Vocational School, 311 E. Park in downtown Olathe.  Interested musicians should contact music director Steven Smith at 913-780-5210.  Information about all the orchestra’s activities is available at www.olatheorchestra.org . The OCO is proud to be part of the Sesquicentennial Celebration of the city of Olathe.