MUSIC – THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE
Welcome to the 65th season of the Santa Cruz Symphony. Sixty-five years is a long time to survive in this fragile world of symphonic music, and we are proud to be celebrating another year with you. Because of your support we are strong and looking forward to another incredible year.
We hope we have made it through the bulk of the pandemic and things will start looking a bit more normal, whatever that turns out to be. Our hopes are that you, our wonderful patrons, will feel safe in attending our live musical performances and will continue to support us with your generosity. Maestro Stewart has an outstanding season planned for you, and we hope you will be able to attend every one of our concerts. And invite your friends to enjoy our performances, too. Help spread the word that Santa Cruz has a world-class symphony!
We have an outstanding support team that helps to make our concerts happen. Of course, we are incredibly fortunate to have Danny Stewart as our Maestro, and I couldn’t be more happy knowing that he will be with us for at least 10 more years. Our small staff does an amazing job keeping things organized, creative and moving seamlessly forward. Our Board of Directors is dedicated, hard-working and committed to making sure that Your Symphony remains vital and an important part of our community.
Our mission is to “inspire, educate and engage through artistic excellence, distinctive musical performances and varied activities that celebrate and enhance the cultural vibrancy of our community.” We keep that mission in mind with every decision that we make. We have a strong educational influence in our county with our varied youth and adult education programs. We believe in the power of music, in particular live performances.
If you want to be part of our dynamic team, feel free to contact me or the Symphony office. We always need help in some capacity. Here are some ways you can help: invite your friends to our concerts, join our Board, join the Symphony League, volunteer to be a docent at one of our Youth Concerts or school visits, become a sponsor or donor, contribute to our Endowment, or join our Legacy Society.
Music is transformative and is a universal language for humans and animals. Whenever I played my piano, my previous cats and dogs were drawn to the music and would lay down calmly close to the piano. When we attend outside performances it’s apparent the impact of music when birds suddenly start flying around or sitting peacefully on a nearby tree. Music affects us all, and we’re happy to be part of providing this beautiful music for your enjoyment.
Linda Burroughs, Santa Cruz Symphony Board President