SALISBURY — The Salisbury Symphony is looking for a new logo, and it needs the community’s help.

Designers of all ages are invited to submit an entry that reflects the organization’s new direction and branding.

“I really want to give everyone a say in what we should be,” said James Harvey, the new executive director of the symphony.

Harvey says he has a new vision for the symphony. In addition to a new logo and new arts partnerships, Harvey said, he hopes the symphony can transcend boundaries that have existed between the community at large and the arts community.

“This whole thing that we’re doing is about giving the symphony back to the community,” he said.

For 50 years, the Salisbury Symphony has been an incredible organization, he said. But Harvey dreams of the day when it will be the “prominent musical organization” in Rowan County and one that helps identify and foster local musical talent across all genres.

“We want to reflect our community,” Harvey said.

Rowan County has musicians blossoming across all genres including pop, jazz and bluegrass, he said. In the future, Harvey hopes the symphony will acknowledge and consider all cultures and musical backgrounds.

“Rowan County is beautifully diverse, and we need to represent everyone … because everyone listens to music,” Harvey said.

The move also has to do with changing times. According to Harvey, people relate to music in a different way than they did in the past.

Instead of going to a concert hall and focusing on a musical performance, audiences today crave a more interactive, social experience. They stream music, listen to it with friends, and download music to take with them on the go. That means the symphony needs to take a different approach, he said.

“We want to redefine what the symphony means to people,” Harvey said.

Becoming integrated in a community is “not performing a concert in tuxedos in a concert hall. It’s going out in the field and performing Americana and bluegrass,” Harvey said.

“Hopefully, people will be able to hear it for what it is, which is beautiful sounds that stir the soul,” Harvey said. “…We need to be everybody’s orchestra.”

Designs for a symphony logo are due Oct. 12. The new logo should reflect the Salisbury Symphony as an organization that is fun, accessible, modern, timeless, community-driven and bold, Harvey said. The winning designer will receive a lifetime membership to the Salisbury Symphony.

Designs should be submitted as a JPEG or PDF to director@salisburysymphony.org.

Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.