It took a century for the Bangor Symphony Orchestra to become one of the city’s leading arts organizations. That’s 100 years and counting, thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts, which awarded a $70,000 grant to the BSO yesterday.

The funds are part of the NEA Planning and Stabilization Program, which is designed to assure the stability of arts organizations into the future. The money is intended to supplement the “Unfinished Symphony Centennial Endowment Campaign” which got underway last year. Approximately $898,000 has already been pledged toward the $1 million goal.

“The National Endowment has recognized the uniqueness and unparalleled standard of the orchestra, and I am really pleased,” said Rep. John Baldacci from his Bangor office yesterday. “It’s going to go a long way in helping their fund-raising efforts.”

Baldacci added that he and his family have attended several BSO concerts, which often sell out the 1,600-seat house at the Maine Center for the Arts. The concerts are always enjoyable and enriching, said Baldacci, and he applauded the efforts of the NEA and BSO to secure that for future generations.

According to grant outlines, the symphony must match the funds three-to-one by raising $210,000 in private donations by June of 1999. The terms of the new NEA grant specify, however, that only money received after July 1, 1996, can qualify as matching funds. Since that date, the BSO has received $150,000, all of which can be used in the challenge phase of the grant. The NEA has also specified that donations, rather than pledges, be in hand for the grant money to be awarded.

“Our goal now is to go out into the community and find the money,” said Bob Bahr, BSO general manager. “It’s an opportunity for the community to make the dollars count. And it’s a good time for those who have made pledges to make their donations early.”

The BSO, which is under the music direction of Christopher Zimmerman, is the nation’s oldest continually performing symphony orchestra. It holds five classical concerts annually and performs “The Nutcracker” with the Robinson Ballet Company during the holiday season. Although many of the BSO musicians live in Maine, many travel from throughout New England to perform. This year’s centennial programming has included community celebrations, the last of which will be a benefit dinner featuring German-Austrian food, after a concert April 13.