Cleveland, Ohio, is a large port city on Lake Erie, founded in 1796. Despite its large population of central European immigrants, it long lacked a full-time professional orchestra and relied mostly on visiting artists. In 1915 the Musical Arts Association (MAA) was founded to facilitate such concerts, but under the guidance of Adella Prentiss Hughes changed its mission to establishing a permanent orchestra. In 1918 the Association hired Russian-American conductor Nikolai Sokoloff to bring together the new ensemble.