Have the time of your LIFE with the Santa Cruz Symphony!

EXPERIENCE A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME AS THE SANTA CRUZ SYMPHONY PRESENTS LIFE!

The concepts and imagery of world-renowned local photographer Frans Lanting and the captivating music of Philip Glass will be showcased in the 15th Anniversary performance of LIFE: A Journey Through Time. This multimedia orchestral production celebrates the splendor of life on Earth. LIFE interprets the history of nature’s existence on our planet in seven glorious movements, from its earliest beginnings to its present diversity, in a work that merges the visual and performing arts with life and earth sciences.

“Lanting’s majestic photographs dance lightly across a huge screen over the orchestra, while some of Glass’s most elegant music pulses underneath. It’s a celebration of nature in all its glory.” - The Washington Post

JOIN US FOR THE STREET PARTY!

Your Symphony’s presentation of LIFE will begin at 5:00pm with a street party featuring live music from Samba Cruz Quartet, delicious food from some of Santa Cruz’s best food trucks, and wine, beer and soft drinks right in front of the Civic Auditorium. Bring your friends, listen and dance to fun rhythmic music, enjoy great food, and engage in lively conversation!

DON'T MISS OUR SCIENCE PANEL!

Be sure to arrive early to the street party because you won’t want to miss a special panel discussion held in the Civic Auditorium at 6:30pm. A science panel with leading researchers from UC Santa Cruz — geneticist David Haussler, astrophysicist Natalie Batalha, paleoecologist Paul Koch, and geologist Gary Griggs — will add insights about the evolution of life on Earth. They will be joined onstage by Frans Lanting, who will explain the ideas behind LIFE: A Journey Through Time.

This will be the perfect prelude to immersing yourself in the marvelous photos of Frans Lanting and the magical music of Philip Glass by Your Symphony under the direction of Maestro Daniel Stewart, starting at 7:30pm.

A GREAT EVENING AWAITS YOU!

5 PM: Street Party

6:30 PM: Science Panel

7:30 PM: LIFE: A Journey Through Time

Your Feedback Is Appreciated!

You're invited to participate in a survey of our most recent concert! 

Dear Santa Cruz Symphony Patron,

If you attended the Carmina Burana concerts in person last weekend, you are invited to take our post-concert survey. You'll be given the chance to enter a drawing to win two tickets to our next concert, LIFE - A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME which combines the music of Philip Glass and the legendary photography of Frans Lanting, on June 18, 2022!


$40,000 Board Matching Donation!

Dear Symphony Family,

We hope you enjoyed this wonderful season of inspirational and diverse music from Your Symphony. Your support and sponsorships helped Maestro Danny Stewart create this amazingly powerful season that had everyone clapping, cheering, and sometimes even weeping with the strength and beauty of each concert. 

We need your help to continue to provide our community with the quality performances you have come to expect. Our Symphony Association Board has generously offered up $40,000 for a matching grant. Every dollar you donate between now and Monday, May 30th will be matched one-for-one.

We don’t want to leave even a penny on the table, and neither do you. So, could you help us meet this challenge? A fully funded match would mean $80,000 going straight into our budget for next season.

Here’s why it’s especially important. As with most arts organizations, Covid provided many challenges for us. Without a performance season for part of the time, and with safety restrictions and patron concerns this year, our ticket revenue was down significantly. Hopefully the worst is behind us and we can return to a more normal capacity. But even if we sold every seat, ticket revenue only covers about 50% of the cost to bring this music to you.

The Symphony received funding from the federal government to help support us during this global Covid crisis. But that is not going to continue. Of course, we will be pursuing other means of support such as grants from public and private foundations. But we still need your generous support. And if you are interested in becoming a sponsor at any level, please inform the Symphony office and we will be glad to follow up and discuss sponsorship options.

You are a valuable part of our Symphony family, so we know that you will help us with whatever amount you can give. 

Thank you again for your loyalty and for your dedication to fine musical performances.

Musically yours,

Linda Burroughs

Board President

PS – Remember that Monday May 30th, is our deadline for this match! Let’s make this happen!

Final concert of the santa cruz symphony classic season!

Don't Miss the Santa Cruz Symphony's Final Concert of the Season This Weekend!

Join the Santa Cruz Symphony for a captivating evening of choral and orchestral excellence as they present Carmina Burana, the fifth and last installment in the 2021 - 2022 Concert Season. The Symphony will host two performances of the concert on May 21 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium and May 22 at the Mello Center in Watsonville.

The program specially features the Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus and the Cabrillo Youth Chorus under the direction of Cheryl Anderson along with soloists Ryan Wolfe, Raven McMillon and Jonah Hoskins. The concert will include Monteverdi’s Toccata & Ritornello from l’Orfeo, and Carl Orff’s masterpiece cantata, Carmina Burana, performed by the orchestra and full chorus! Don’t miss out on this powerful and enthrallingly lush soundscape that concludes this year’s Classic Concert Series.

Last chance to sign up for our online music class happening tonight!

Dear Symphony Music Lovers and Lifelong Learners,

There's still time to sign up for our online music class happening TONIGHT focused on Carmina Burana and our May 21 and 22 concerts.

Our leaders for this class will be Santa Cruz Symphony Board member Deborah Bronstein, MD and her husband Evans Whitaker, MD, MLIS. Deborah is a long time Cabrillo Chorus member and amateur musician, and "Whit" is her willing accomplice. We'll also have a very special guest: Maestro Danny Stewart!

Deborah and Whit will cover the pieces to be performed in order as they appear in the program:

  • Claudio Monteverdi's Toccata & Ritornello and its connection to Carl Orff

  • Valentin Silvestrov’s Prayer for Ukraine for an exquisite and timely tribute to Ukraine

  • Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, the perennial fan favorite. We’ll talk about the composer, his controversies, and his legacy—and uncover more about the texts, soloists, and musical structure.

This class will include live commentary and an interview with Maestro Danny Stewart!

We will meet on Zoom on Monday May 9, 2022 at 7 pm. Allow up to 90 minutes for this presentation, which will go into much greater depth than time allows at the preview presentations before the concerts. As always, we aim to enhance your concert-going and musical experience through deeper understanding of the concert material. This class will be recorded. A recording will be available two days later. 

The cost of this class is $20. To sign up, click the button below and follow the instructions on the website. After you've paid for the class, we'll send you an email with instructions for how to join the class via Zoom.

Please join your Symphony friends and pass the word to all your music-loving friends for this excellent class! We look forward to seeing you!

SIGN UP NOW!