Spotlight on Education: Link Up Program

WHAT IS LINK UP?

Carnegie Hall's Link Up program unites students from a wide variety of backgrounds to share a valuable cultural experience. This year's theme is "The Orchestra Rocks!" Since 2018, this free program has been an essential part of Santa Cruz Symphony's educational outreach. Led by their teachers, students explore the orchestral repertoire in their classrooms through a fun, highly engaging, hands-on music curriculum. After weeks of learning, these young people enjoy an interactive performance with a professional orchestra — the Santa Cruz Symphony!

WHAT DO STUDENTS LEARN?

As a Link Up partner, Santa Cruz Symphony provides 4th and 5th grade teachers free top-notch music education materials and training, in collaboration with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. Under teacher guidance, students explore core musical concepts in specific symphonic works by listening, singing, playing the recorder, and composing. They also learn how to attend an orchestral concert and become an "expert" audience. This year's theme is "The Orchestra Rocks!" Through the Link Up repertoire, students have been discovering rhythm, pulse, and groove — becoming listeners, composers, and performers of music.

HOW DOES OUR COMMUNITY BENEFIT?

Students benefit from music education in many ways. They learn how to understand and appreciate music and to see themselves as real musicians. They have a chance to perform with a live professional orchestra, and they have the excitement of joining other students to engage with the arts. For teachers, Link Up offers access to high-quality educational tools, professional development, and a wealth of online resources, all at a time when arts education funding can be hard to find.

For the community, our Link Up program helps to form stronger connections — partnerships with schools, collaborations with local artists and arts organizations, and a deeper understanding of the importance of music in our lives. See and hear what students have been learning through Link Up. Come to our Family Concert on Sunday, March 2!

Santa Cruz Symphony Family Concert:

Link Up's “The Orchestra Rocks”
Peter and the Wolf

Sunday, March 2 at 2 PM
Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz

Adults: $26 | Kids: $13 (ages 3-17)

Bring the whole family to Peter and the Wolf on March 2!

For the price of a trip to the movies, the entire family can enjoy Santa Cruz Symphony!

On Sunday, March 2, join Maestro Daniel Stewart, beloved Master of Ceremonies Omari Tau, Santa Cruz Symphony, Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony, Cabrillo Youth Chorus, El Sistema, Kuumbwa Jazz Honor Band, and Esperanza del Valle Folklórico for our annual Family Concert! You may even know some of the performers.

This is the perfect way to enjoy an affordable family outing as Santa Cruz Symphony presents Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf alongside these community partners.

Our Family Concert is the finale of weeks of incredible educational experiences. Santa Cruz Symphony is a partner orchestra with Carnegie Hall for its Link Up program, in which students grades 4–5 at dozens of schools learn to sing and play an instrument in their classrooms. This year, kids discover how music creates patterns of sound and silence that are expressive and exciting in a program called The Orchestra Rocks!

During the week before the Sunday Family Concert, students from local schools bring their instruments and voices to perform with Santa Cruz Symphony from their seats at a series of rousing weekday Youth Concerts. For many students, this is their first time experiencing live orchestral music!

Finally, at the Family Concert on Sunday, March 2, the whole community has the chance to see and hear this year's Link Up program performed by Santa Cruz Symphony and our community partners, followed by the timeless classic Peter and the Wolf.

The Family Concert is a vibrant musical event with entertainment for all ages. Bring the kids—we promise they'll love it, and so will you!

Family Concert: Peter and the Wolf

Sunday, March 2 at 2 PM

Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz

Adults: $26 | Kids: $13 (ages 3-17)

Good Times Best Classical Music Group: Vote for Santa Cruz Symphony!

We did it last year. Let’s do it again! 

Good Times is asking for us to vote for the Best Classical Music Group of 2025. Santa Cruz Symphony won the award last year, and we know we can do a repeat with your help. Submit your online ballot by SUNDAY, JANUARY 19 to be counted!

Here are just some of the benefits Santa Cruz Symphony has brought to our community for 67 years:

We all appreciate the superb quality of music and guest artists that Maestro Danny Stewart has brought to our community. Now let’s show our love for Santa Cruz Symphony! Click the button below to cast your vote.

A few Good Times voting rules ensure that your vote is valid:

  • If you didn’t do this last year, you must register to vote by submitting your name and email. Good Times will send an email with a verification code.

  • Vote in at least 20 categories for your ballot to be counted. This helps to prevent ballot box stuffing.

  • Include your name and email address on the ballot to ensure you’re not submitting multiple ballots.

  • Ballots are confidential, but you may be contacted to confirm your vote.

  • Multiple ballots from a single IP address or sender may disqualify a winner.

  • Submit your online ballot by Sunday, January 19 to be counted!

Happy new year! Expand your musical horizons in 2025

Welcome to 2025! We’re looking forward to all the good things this year will bring. That includes powerfully transformative performances, new discoveries, and the joy of connecting with each other through the shared language of music. Together, we will make this a year to remember.

Our 2024-25 concert season continues with offerings to delight all ages: a Family Concert, a collaboration with Santa Cruz Shakespeare, one-of-a-kind Musician Series events, and much more. Here's what's coming up in the next few months. We can't wait to experience these musical treats with you!

Santa Cruz Symphony League's Annual Gala 

Gather your friends and kick up your heels for a night of fun at the Symphony League’s Annual Gala! Don your favorite rustic-chic attire and enjoy country hospitality with a delicious farm-to-table dinner, live music, and exciting auctions at UCSC’s Cowell Hay Barn. All proceeds will benefit Santa Cruz Symphony. Learn more and buy tickets here.

 

 

 

Annual Family Concert: Peter and the Wolf  

Take the kids away from their screens and bring them to a live concert! Our annual Family Concert on March 2 will present Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf plus a diverse selection of music performed with community partner groups. This is the perfect way to enjoy a vibrant, fun, affordably priced musical event with entertainment for all ages. Learn more and buy tickets here.

 

 

 

Classical Series Concert: Symphonic Shakespeare 

This highly anticipated collaboration with Santa Cruz Shakespeare will feature Director Charles Pasternak alongside the immortal melodies of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet and Felix Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, plus Anna Clyne’s breathtaking portrayal of the sound and fury contained in the world of Macbeth. Learn more and buy tickets here.

 

 

Auditions are Coming – Apply by Monday, December 30!

On January 13–14, 2025, Santa Cruz Symphony will be holding blind auditions for multiple positions in our orchestra. Qualified candidates of all backgrounds are welcome to apply for open positions. The deadline to apply to audition is THIS MONDAY, December 30.

Auditions are held to elevate the artistic standards of the orchestra and increase the roster of permanent musicians. We strive for strong continuity and a cohesive ensemble, allowing Music Director Daniel Stewart to develop the unique sound of Santa Cruz Symphony.

We celebrate our musicians’ interpretive contributions, their technical skills and discipline, and their scholarship of styles and contexts. We are committed to achieving the highest artistic and professional standards in our art and operations. We seek to create a culture of inclusion and a work environment that values dedication, professionalism, and creativity, and we’re committed to diversity and equal opportunity in our recruitment and hiring.