Milton earned prominence in the musical world as the smallest community in the United States to support a full symphonic orchestra that performed regular concerts each season. Founded in 1919 and conducted by E. Hart Bugbee, the Milton Symphony Orchestra was supported entirely by music lovers from the community and nearby towns and cities. Its men and women, mostly talented amateurs, received no compensation for their time. Dr. George C. Davis, later the group's personnel manager, and Dr. A.H. Hibshman, a Milton clergyman, were instrumental in organizing the musicians; Davis was a violinist and Hibshman a flutist. The first public concert was given at the Family Theater on June 25, 1920. The orchestra's repertoire included more than 200 works from the orchestral library, and many noted soloists appeared with it, including Madeleine Keltie of the Milan Opera Company; Suzanne Keener and Henri Scott of the Metropolitan Opera Company; and Maria Maximovitch, a Russian soprano who made her first American appearance with the Milton Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra disbanded shortly after the outbreak of World War II.