For orchestra, Atlantic now says it best

The Hingham Symphony Orchestra -- a one-time community orchestra that outgrew its roots -- has a new name that befits its growth and ambitions.

The orchestra announced its rechristening as the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra at its season-ending pops concert last weekend in Braintree.

The new name also comes with a tagline that recognizes the orchestra's ongoing regional connection: South Shore in Concert.

The orchestra outgrew its old identity over the past 10 years under music director Jin Kim, changing from a true community orchestra with mostly amateur players to a fully professional regional orchestra.

"It's a big name," managing director Nina Wellford said of the newly chosen Atlantic Symphony Orchestra: South Shore in Concert.

For several years, she said, the board has been discussing a new name that more accurately reflects a professional orchestra that plays its major classical concerts outside of Hingham.

In recent years the orchestra has performed in venues in a handful of South Shore towns (Hingham, Duxbury, Norwell, Braintree, Cohasset) as well as in Boston. In March it performed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Duxbury's Performing Arts Center and Boston's Jordan Hall.

Kim, hired with the mission of raising musical standards, said this year that the orchestra has become "one of the most difficult orchestras to get into in the Boston area."

Its quality is assured by tough auditions and a reliance on the Boston area's wealth of top young musicians, Kim said.

The board -- concerned that a name change would mean giving up recognition -- took a year to involve the audience in the process, soliciting suggestions and asking for reaction to specific monikers.

An obvious new possibility was South Shore Orchestra, but the board sought a name that reflected "our identity as an orchestra," and not only its regional identity, Wellford said. "We feel this orchestra is really more than that."

The board sought the views from audiences at this year's concerts before settling on the Atlantic Symphony.

People here "feel passionately about the Atlantic," Wellford said. "It's our ocean, it's a big ocean. It's timeless, broad, and deep."

Atlantic Symphony is also a name that "connects to the future and not the past," Wellford said. "Musicians from around the world come here to play."

Wellford acknowledged that a name change is a big step -- "Your name is your identity. Your name is who you are" -- and runs the risk of weakening ties with those familiar with the old name.

Knowing that some supporters connected strongly with the Hingham Symphony identity, the board held a discussion of the issue of change a year ago.

"Some people felt nostalgic" for the old name, she said, but even they "agreed it was time for a change" to reflect what the orchestra had become.

The audience reacted positively to the announcement of the name change at last weekend's concert at F1 in Braintree, said board member Roy Harris.

"People really liked that we're taking this step," Harris said.

Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com.