join us for an open rehearsal this friday!

A new concert season opens this weekend for Your Santa Cruz Symphony, and you're invited to attend our OPEN REHEARSAL of the Echos of Empire program on Friday evening at 7:30 pm at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium! This is your chance to observe what happens behind the scenes as the orchestra prepares for the actual concerts. And it’s free – no tickets required!

The work that goes into these rehearsals will be on full view, as various sections collaborate to perfect their performances. You'll hear how passages are continuously refined until the sound is harmonious. You'll observe Maestro Danny Stewart as he mixes the orchestra, one section at a time, to create the final product.

This open rehearsal is ideal for anyone interested in how a musical composition is painstakingly stitched together to create the perfect weekend performance. We always have plenty of available seats at open rehearsals, so there's no need to reserve a place. Doors open at 7 PM. We hope to see you there!

Open rehearsal of Echos of Empire:

Friday September 22 at 7:30 PM at the Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz

Evening performance of Echos of Empire:

Saturday September 23 at 7:30 PM at the Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz

Matinee performance of Echos of Empire:

Sunday September 24 at 2:00 PM at the Henry J. Mello Center in Watsonville

CALLING ALL SUBSCRIBERS! If you haven't received your tickets yet, please call us at 831-462-0553 or email us at office@santacruzsymphony.org.

STILL NEED TO BUY SEASON TICKETS? They're available for purchase until 4 PM TODAY (September 21). Click here to order season tickets online.

WANT TO BUY TICKETS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONCERTS? Click here to place your order online.

Our 66th concert season opens THIS WEEKEND!

IT'S ALMOST HERE: OUR 66th CONCERT SEASON! 

Our 2023-24 concert season launches this weekend with Echos of Empire, exploring works by Richard Strauss, Hristo Yotsov, and Ottorino Respighi. Expect to be exhilarated, amused, and emotionally moved by these memorable pieces!

Echos of Empire will open with Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegal, a playful comic masterpiece exploring the relationship between authority and freedom through the story of a medieval prankster. You’ll be delighted by the clever ways Strauss’s instrumentation expresses the characters and storyline.

Next we’ll enjoy a wildly entertaining Concerto for Drumset and Orchestra by Bulgarian composer Hristo Yotsov, which will feature soloist Shun Lopez, winner of the 2019 San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. This one-of-a-kind work brings together the bold creativity of Yotsov and the drumming prowess of this talented young musician.

Finally, we’ll journey to ancient Rome with Respighi’s Pines of Rome, which showcases colorful pictorial depictions of the eternal city. You’ll be swept up in the cinematic vastness of the orchestra’s sound in this dazzling symphonic portrait.

Santa Cruz Symphony bids a very fond farewell to Nigel Armstrong, who will move on to other career opportunities following this concert. Your can read our tribute to Nigel here.

ABOUT SOLOIST SHUN LOPEZ

At only four years old, Shun Kodaira-Lopez began his musical career with keyboard lessons in his home city of Tokyo. Two years later, he began additional lessons in percussion and drums. At age eight he met his mentor, a graduate of the New England Conservatory and an accomplished pianist, composer, and conductor known for his work in Japanese television. With his new mentor, Shun embarked on intensive musical training for the next two years, including the keyboard, drums, piano, and digital music.

When he was nine, Shun won the Grand Prize in the V-Drums World Championship Japan Final 2012, a national competition. To pursue his interest in jazz fusion, he began taking lessons from the famed and accomplished master drummer and educator, Tommy Igoe. Shun performed in the San Francisco Youth Orchestra from 2018 to 2021, where he joined that orchestra's Europe Tour in summer 2019. They performed in multiple cities, including Copenhagen, Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, and Budapest. Shun says that this was his best memory as an SF Youth Orchestra member. We're delighted to feature this gifted performer in our first program of the season! 

CALLING ALL SUBSCRIBERS! If you haven't received your tickets yet, please call us at 831-462-0553 or email us at office@santacruzsymphony.org.

Find out about our updated Covid-19 policy here.

STILL NEED TO BUY SEASON TICKETS? They're available for purchase until September 21. Click here to order season tickets online.

WANT TO BUY TICKETS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONCERTS? Click here to place your order online.

Santa Cruz Symphony bids farewell to beloved Concertmaster Nigel Armstrong

Nigel Armstrong’s first day as Concertmaster for Santa Cruz Symphony in 2016

As our beloved former concertmaster Nigel Armstrong moves on to other career opportunities, we want to wish him a fond farewell, with gratitude for his remarkable tenure and for creating so many moments of musical magic together with Daniel Stewart and our Santa Cruz Symphony.

"Nigel’s artistry and wonderful spirit have meant so much to our orchestra and community,” said Music Director Daniel Stewart. “I can’t thank him enough for the inspirational role he’s played in the development of our orchestra, and the many unforgettable moments collaborating together.”

Daniel Stewart and Nigel Armstrong after Nigel’s performance of Salonen’s violin concerto

Particularly memorable performances have included his first concerts with the Santa Cruz Symphony in complete performances of Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia; Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons; Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade; Esa-Pekka Salonen’s violin concerto; recitals at Samper Hall; and many demonstrations of his improvisational brilliance.

We hope you’ll join us in showing our appreciation for Nigel during his final performances with us on September 23 and 24, in our Echos of Empire program!

Introducing our new Artist in Residence and Concertmaster Nancy Zhou!

Maestro Daniel Stewart is delighted to announce that internationally acclaimed violin soloist Nancy Zhou will be joining the Santa Cruz Symphony as our new Artist in Residence and Concertmaster! This special new title reflects Nancy's stature as one of the world's foremost violin virtuosos. It also means we are looking forward to her additional creative contributions to chamber music programming and the development of other special engagement projects.

The 2018 winner of the Shanghai Isaac Stern Violin Competition, Nancy Zhou is widely known as a probing musical voice infused with searing virtuosity. Her musicianship resonates with a global audience and brings her on stage with the world's leading orchestras. A lover of chamber music and an explorer of nontraditional works, Nancy also brings a commitment to guiding young musicians and an emphasis on the intersection of music, dance, and culture. Click here to learn more about Nancy.

We're honored to have Nancy as our new Concertmaster, and we know you will be impressed by her genius and artistry this season!

A very special thanks to our former Concertmaster Nigel Armstrong for his significant talents as he prepares to move on to other career opportunities. You'll still get a chance to see Nigel perform as Concertmaster for our first concert of the season, Echos of Empire, on September 23 and 24.

This season, Nancy Zhou will perform with Santa Cruz Symphony in the following three programs. Note that she will be a featured soloist in the October concert. She will transition into a full season in 2024-25.  

OCTOBER 21-22, 2023

Mozart: Overture to Le nozze di Figaro
Rossini: Overture to Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Beethoven: Leonore Overture no. 3
Verdi: Overture to La forza del destino
Bizet: Carmen Suites 1 & 2
Waxman: Carmen Fantasie (featuring Nancy Zhou as soloist)

MARCH 23-24, 2024

Jose Granero: Matsuri Overture
Schumann: Cello Concerto
Stravinsky: Petrushka

JUNE 8, 2024

John Williams Spectacular

Explore our 2023-24 season here!

Santa Cruz Symphony welcomes Nancy Zhou, our new Artist in Residence and Concertmaster

Maestro Daniel Stewart is delighted to announce that internationally acclaimed violin soloist Nancy Zhou will be joining the Santa Cruz Symphony as our new Artist in Residence and Concertmaster! This special new title reflects her stature as one of the world's foremost violin virtuosos. It also means we are looking forward to her additional creative contributions to chamber music programming and development of other special engagement projects.

Our new Concertmaster is a probing musical voice infused with searing virtuosity. The winner of the 2018 Shanghai Isaac Stern Violin Competition, Nancy Zhou’s musicianship resonates with a global audience and brings her on stage with the world’s leading orchestras.

At 13 years old, Nancy made her orchestral debut with her hometown San Antonio Symphony. She went on to collaborate with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Munich Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and many more. She has performed with stellar conductors such as Jaap van Zweden, Sakari Oramo, Peter Oundjian, Eun Sun Kim, Christoph Poppen, and others of equal stature.

Nancy loves chamber music and guiding young musicians. She has performed at many international music festivals. In 2017, she was guest artist and faculty at Encore Chamber Music Festival. Holding masterclasses and private classes, she is a guest educator at summer festivals. She also teaches global students from an online studio.

Nancy also has explored nontraditional works. She presented Zhao Jiping's first violin concerto, and she gave the US premiere of Unsuk Chin's "Gran Cadenza" for two solo violins with Anne-Sophie Mutter. She will soon perform Chen Qigang's "La joie de la souffrance" and commission composer Vivian Fung to write a work for solo violin and electronics. The goal is to explore the intersection of Nancy’s personal family oral history, folk minority culture, and music.

Born in Texas to Chinese immigrants, Nancy learned the violin from her father. She studied with Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory while pursuing literature at Harvard University. She is also an Associated Artist of the Queen Elisabeth Chapel, where she studied with Augustin Dumay.

A very special thanks to our former Concertmaster Nigel Armstrong for his significant talents as he prepares to move on to other career opportunities. You'll still get a chance to see Nigel perform as Concertmaster for our first concert of the season, Echos of Empire, on September 23 and 24.

This season, Nancy Zhou will perform with Santa Cruz Symphony in the following three programs. Note that she will be a featured soloist in the October concert. She will transition into a full season in 2024-25.

OCTOBER 21-22, 2023

Mozart: Overture to Le nozze di Figaro
Rossini: Overture to Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Beethoven: Leonore Overture no. 3
Verdi: Overture to La forza del destino
Bizet: Carmen suites 1 & 2
Waxman: Carmen Fantasie feat. Nancy Zhou as soloist

MARCH 23-24, 2024

Jose Granero: Matsuri Overture
Schumann: Cello Concerto
Stravinsky: Petrushka

JUNE 8, 2024

John Williams Spectacular