When the conductor Henry Hadley started the orchestra in 1911 they only had sixty musicians. They gave pop concerts as well as concerts of classical music. In 1915 Alfred Hertz became their conductor. He improved their playing and made several radio broadcasts in the late 1920s. Hertz retired in 1930 and was followed by Basil Cameron and Issay Dobrowen. During the Great Depression, the orchestra had hardly and money and they did not play during the 1934-35 season. Then the people of San Francisco managed to get funding for the orchestra so that they could carry on.