June 12, 2020 :: George Gershwin (1898–1937) Rhapsody in Blue George Gershwin’s Broadway career was just getting underway when Paul Whiteman tapped him to contribute a work for an ambitious concert in New York’s Aeolian Hall that aimed to clothe jazz in symphonic garb. The concert, on February 12, 1924 was a near-disaster. It was boring. It was pretentious....
May 28, 2020 :: 5/28/2020 We ❤️ California Symphony subscribers! Whether you have been coming to concerts for 30+ years or you joined us more recently, you are a part of a remarkable story that’s garnered national attention, with audiences growing, subscriptions up a massive 63% over four years, and performances added to meet demand. We are so glad to...
:: 5/28/2020 We want to assure you that we are in this together with you, our valued and loyal patrons. The 20/21 season is going to be new and different. While we all miss sharing music together in the hall, change brings fresh challenges and opportunities to innovate. Fortunately, that’s something we’ve done successfully in recent...
May 7, 2020 :: We check in with California Symphony violinist Josepha Fath and trumpeter William Harvey to learn more about how they’re sheltering-in-place and continuing to make music together, even off stage. How are you spending your time sheltering-in-place and what are you doing to stay upbeat? William: I’m doing some on-line teaching for UC Berkeley, Young...
May 6, 2020 :: You might have seen California Symphony percussionist Allen Biggs at the back of the orchestra. During the shelter-in-place, you can find him serenading his neighborhood with his marimba from his driveway. What was an early influence in your musical life? I was born in San Francisco. Then when I was three years old, my...
May 1, 2020 :: MESSAGE TO PATRONS, 5/1/2020 Ticket holders: click here if you have questions about the cancellation of our FOUR SEASONS FINALE concerts. With a PG&E power outage at our season opener, an against-the-odds 49ers Super Bowl appearance over Brahms Fest weekend, and now back-to-back cancellations forced by a pandemic, my first season as Executive Director at...
:: May 1, 2020 Why are you cancelling these concerts? Following the latest direction from Contra Costa Health Services regarding the extension of the shelter-in-place, the Lesher Center has cancelled performances through May 31, and therefore we must cancel the FOUR SEASONS FINALE concerts scheduled for May 23 and 24. I bought tickets. What happens next?...
April 13, 2020 :: By California Symphony Last Updated March 16, 2021 A Donato Cabrera Exclusive As part of a continued commitment to promoting engagement and connection with audiences, California Symphony Music Director Donato Cabrera has announced the launch of a new online series, MusicWise – Conversations about Art and Culture with Donato Cabrera. Cabrera will host MusicWise on select Tuesdays at 1pm PST on...
April 6, 2020 :: We caught up virtually with soprano Esther Tonea who was one of the soloists in our March 2018 performances of MOZART REQUIEM. While Tonea shelters-in-place in San Francisco, we reminisce on meeting Rita Moreno and what she’s been up to since her California Symphony debut. You made your California Symphony debut on our March...
March 28, 2020 :: The theme of the 2019/20 season, Connections, has never seemed more apt or more desirable. As we explore what it means to forge and to maintain connections in a time of social distancing and temporarily silenced concert halls, we present some resources to keep the joy of music going. From Music Director Donato Cabrera’s daily...
