our recital with Destiny Muhammad postponed until April 21, 2024

Dear Santa Cruz Symphony Supporter:

This email is to inform you that our recital with Destiny Muhammad, originally scheduled for Sunday, December 17, must be postponed until April 21, 2024. There is a good reason for this change, and Destiny agrees.

On Friday afternoon, we learned that Kuumbwa Jazz Center was producing a fundraiser for Tammi Brown, a jazz artist who has performed with our Symphony. She has just been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer and needs financial help for medical expenses.

Kuumbwa had to set the fundraiser for the same date as our recital to accommodate the schedules of participating musicians. Destiny and Tammi are longtime friends, as is Maestro Danny. We knew that going ahead with our recital date would be entirely inappropriate for all of us.

We contacted Destiny to inform her of the conflict and suggested that we postpone her performance to another date. She immediately agreed, so we moved her recital to April 21, 2024. Of course, we will offer refunds to those who cannot make the alternate date.

We do encourage you to attend the Kuumbwa fundraiser and support Tammi. Tickets are going quickly.

Please visit Eventbrite to book your place.

Or visit Tammi’s GoFundMe page.

Thank you for your cooperation in supporting this fundraiser and in accommodating our schedule change.

Best regards,

Your Santa Cruz Symphony

Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony Fall Concert this sunday!

When: 3 PM, SUNDAY NOVEMBER 19
WHERE: UCSC Music Center Recital Hall

You're in for a treat this Sunday, when the Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony presents a rich and varied program showcasing two featured artists!

This fall concert will feature classics by Ravel and Copland and music from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by John Williams. You'll also hear two modern works: Jennifer Jolley's Motordom, and The Middle of Nowhere, a lovely, evocative composition by Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony Concertmaster Benjamin Goodwin.

Antonio Plaza, winner of the Youth Symphony Concerto Competition, will impress you with his sweet performance of the Andante Cantabile from Rimsky-Korsakov's Trombone Concerto. The Starling Violin Quartet, from our Chamber Music Academy, will open the program.

Benjamin Goodwin

Concertmaster and Composer

A talented musician and a valuable leader in the Youth Symphony, Benjamin Goodwin is also a dedicated volunteer with the Santa Cruz Symphony.

His love of music and willingness to share his time and abilities have made him a wonderful asset to our musical community.

 

Antonio Plaza

Soloist

Winner of the Youth Symphony’s Concerto Competition, trombone soloist Antonio Plaza is also one of Santa Cruz Symphony’s Mueller Scholarship winners.

He says that the Mueller Scholarship made it possible for him to “experience once-in-a-lifetime opportunities such as performing a concerto onstage in front of an audience with a full orchestra behind me.”

 

You don't want to miss this concert!

Tickets are just $3 for youth 18 and younger. Adult tickets are $17, seniors $12, college students $5. Premium seats (center front) are available for $30.

Questions? Email info@sccys.org or call Gerry at (831) 239-0442.

 

Maestro Daniel Stewart joins Hakan Ali Toker in a recital!

This is a first for Santa Cruz Symphony! Maestro Danny Stewart, a virtuoso on the viola, will join internationally known pianist Hakan Ali Toker on stage in recital.

Hakan returns following a rousing performance with Your Symphony last year. But he has improved significantly. For years, his sense of hearing was diminishing because of a childhood accident. He had surgery a few months ago to repair the loss, and now he can hear his music the way everyone else can.

It’s been a spiritual awakening. Hakan says he now plays with more restraint and simplicity, and he wants to share that joy with us. Danny looks forward to performing with him in this recital, promising a memorable afternoon of musical delights.

As always, our recitals are held in an intimate setting, where the musicians interact with the audience. Because of the limited capacity, order your tickets now for the best seating.

Congratulations to our new and promoted orchestra members!

Your Symphony is reaching for the stars! Please join Maestro Daniel Stewart and Santa Cruz Symphony in welcoming outstanding new musicians to the orchestra’s roster.

We're delighted to present our new Artist in Residence and Concertmaster Nancy Zhou at our Operas of Seville concerts this weekend on October 21/22, where she will be the featured soloist on Waxman's Carmen Fantasie. If you missed our earlier email about Nancy Zhou, you can learn more about her here.

Our new roster also includes First Violin Steve Tjoa, First Violin Annamarie Arai-Lopez, Second Violin Sarah Biagini, Viola Alexandre Lee, Cello Yosef Feinberg, Principal Bassoon Michelle Keem, and Third Horn Braydon Ross. In addition, Second Violin Luke Santonastaso has been promoted to Principal Second Violin. Congratulations to each musician, who will help to bring the orchestra to new heights!

First violin Steve Tjoa is an active solo, chamber, and orchestral violinist. As concertmaster of the San Francisco Civic Symphony from 2014 to 2017, he helped lead the orchestra, coach chamber groups, organize special events, raise funds, attract guest soloists and conductors, and perform volunteer outreach. He performs regularly with the Oakland Symphony and Bay Philharmonic. Steve studied music performance at the University of Maryland under James Stern. He recently studied with John Chisholm, San Francisco Symphony. Born and raised in New Jersey, he currently lives in San Francisco.

First Violin Annamarie Arai-Lopez enjoys collaborating with other musicians in various settings, from small chamber ensembles to full orchestras, including UCLA's Gluck String Quartet, the Mendocino Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival. Most recently, she has been thrilled to be a member of One Found Sound, a San Francisco conductor-less chamber orchestra. She holds degrees from UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Asst. Principal Second Violin Sarah Biagini is a multi-faceted performer with a wide range of professional experience from orchestral playing to performing alongside rock bands. Sarah regularly performs with multiple orchestras in the Bay Area including California Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, and Modesto Symphony. Born in Los Angeles, she has played music all over the world and has participated in multiple professional recording sessions for television and music.

Viola Alexandre Lee brings a wide variety of experience in orchestras throughout California, including Modesto Symphony, West Bay Opera in Palo Alto, Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, Santa Rosa Symphony, North State Symphony, Rogue Valley Symphony, Stockton Symphony, and many more. He holds degrees from San Francisco Academy Orchestra, San Francisco State University, and California State University.

Cello Yosef Feinberg is a native of Santa Cruz, where he has been a featured soloist of both the Santa Cruz Youth Symphony and the Santa Cruz Symphony. During the summer, he is often a pit orchestra player in local musical theater. As a college student, his most recent major achievement was winning the Bob Cole Conservatory 2021-2022 Concerto Competition and performing the Schumann Concerto. Originally a guitarist, Yosef performs music from both traditional and contemporary literature.

Principal Bassoon Michelle Keem plays with many orchestras around the Bay Area and has performed with orchestras and chamber ensembles across North America and Europe, including the Oregon Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Antwerp Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, and Olmos Ensemble. Currently also Principal Bassoon for North State Symphony, she is also a founding member of Trio Aluloi and teaches bassoon at Sacramento State. She holds degrees from New England Conservatory and has pursued additional graduate studies at Bard College Conservatory

Third Horn Braydon Ross is a recent graduate of the Conservatory of Music at University of the Pacific and is pursuing a master's degree in horn performance at Yale School of Music. He has performed with Oakland Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic, Stockton Symphony, West Edge Opera Festival, Opera Modesto, Merced Symphony, Zion Chamber Orchestra, and Yale Philharmonia, and has been a Fellow for three years with Orchestra Next, resident orchestra for Eugene Ballet.

Principal Second Violin Luke Santonastaso is a versatile musician, instructor, and mentor active across the United States. Also a member of Sarasota Opera Orchestra, his musical engagements extend to the New West Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, Fresno Philharmonic, and others. He has collaborated with renowned artists and been a fellow at prestigious institutions. Dedicated to nurturing emerging talents, Luke has worked with schools and youth orchestras as a coach and mentor. He holds degrees from the Herb Alpert School of Music.

 

Want to get to know our Santa Cruz Symphony musicians?

Visit santacruzsymphony.org/the-orchestra to learn more!

Join us for an open rehearsal this Friday at 7:30 pm!

Would you like a FREE seat at the Santa Cruz Symphony's Open Rehearsal? (Everybody likes FREE stuff!) Come this Friday evening at 7:30 PM to the Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz. You'll be up close and personal as Maestro Daniel Stewart prepares the orchestra for this weekend's performance of Operas of Seville. Did we mention that 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. Bring your friends, too!