Symphony Silicon Valley

Last updated
Symphony Silicon Valley
Orchestra
Symphony Silicon Valley - March 2014 - Stierch.JPG
Symphony Silicon Valley, 2014
Founded2002 (2002)
Location San Jose, California
Concert hallCalifornia Theatre
Website www.symphonysiliconvalley.org

Symphony Silicon Valley is the professional symphony orchestra of San Jose and the South Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 2002 following the demise of the San Jose Symphony, the orchestra debuted to rave reviews and standing ovations on November 23, 2002 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. [1] Started initially by Ballet San Jose as a way to keep their core musicians employed and in town after the closure of the San Jose Symphony, [2] the orchestra was so successful that it was spun off as its own separate nonprofit organization after the first year. [3]

Contents

Background

San Jose has a long history of symphonic music, beginning in 1877 when the town was nothing more than a small collection of homes in a dusty agricultural valley. A group calling itself the San Jose Symphony first performed two years later, and concerts continued to appear irregularly over the years, so, although a continuous history did not begin until 1937, [4] the city has a long history of symphonic music. (Claims that the orchestra had been continuously operating since 1879 [5] are municipal puffery and not accurate.) In October 2001, the San Jose Symphony closed its doors in a bid to restructure. [6] But when, more than a year later, the organization was unable to recover San Jose Symphony declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy and was dissolved. [7] [8]

Symphony Silicon Valley built on the rich musical heritage of the San Jose Symphony by hiring some 75 of the former orchestra's nationally recruited union musicians and regularly employing them to allow them to remain in the area.

Growth

What started as a four performance season in 2002 has today grown into 20 classical performances per year. With the addition of the orchestra's Broadway In Concert season of lighter fare in the 2009/2010 season, the company increased the number of days of work for the musicians by 40%.[ citation needed ] In addition to these two core seasons, the symphony accompanies most Ballet San Jose performances, produces the free outdoor Target Summer Pops festival, and performs special engagements in venues such as Villa Montalvo, Lake Cunningham Park, Discovery Meadow, San Francisco's Masonic Auditorium and Moscone Center and the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay. The symphony frequently acts as the backing orchestra for special events and headline artists such as Video Games Live and Frank Sinatra, Jr. and has performed a number of world premieres.

In 2004, the orchestra moved to their new home, the magnificently restored California Theatre. [9] In 2005 when the San Jose State University Community Chorus was displaced from their university home, Symphony Silicon Valley took on the chorus as the Symphony Silicon Valley Chorale.

Fiscal Responsibility

Symphony Silicon Valley was founded on the principle of market responsiveness. This principle has kept the orchestra in the black every year of its existence and also seen it bring in a much higher earned income ratio than its competitors. [10] [11] The organization also believes in paying a fair wage to its musicians, stagehands, and staff and employs musicians from the American Federation of Musicians and stagehands and ushers from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.

California Theatre

Originally opened in 1927, the California Theatre was designed by Weeks and Day, noted architects of the nearby Sainte Claire Hotel, Oakland's Fox Theatre, and San Francisco's Mark Hopkins Hotel. After years of neglect, the Vaudeville and movie palace finally closed in 1973. It remained vacant and was almost lost through neglect, though purchased by the San Jose Redevelopment Agency in 1985. In 2001, work began in earnest to restore it to its 1920s glory and adapt it for use as a modern opera house and concert hall. The theatre reopened on September 17, 2004, to great acclaim and the symphony opened their first concert in the hall on October 9, 2004. Today after a $75 Million renovation and expansion, the theater seats 1,119 and has some of the finest acoustics in the Bay Area. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silicon Valley</span> Technology hub in California, United States

Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley. The term "Silicon Valley" refers to the area in which high-tech business has proliferated in Northern California, and it also serves as a general metonym for California's high-tech business sector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Tilson Thomas</span> American conductor, pianist and composer (b1944)

Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, and Conductor Laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Jose Repertory Theatre</span>

The San Jose Repertory Theatre was the first resident professional theatre company in San Jose, California. It was founded in 1980 by James P. Reber. In 2008, after the demise of the American Musical Theatre of San Jose, the San Jose Rep became the largest non-profit, professional theatre company in the South Bay with an annual operating budget of $5 million. In 2006, it was saved from impending insolvency by a $2 million bailout loan from the city of San Jose; this was later restructured into a long-term loan similar to a mortgage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra</span>

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music.

Ballet San Jose was a ballet company based in San Jose, California, US, operating from 1985 to 2016.

The San Jose Youth Symphony (SJYS) is a non-profit youth orchestra located in San Jose, California.

The California Symphony is a professional orchestra based in Walnut Creek, California, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The orchestra, which "may be the most forward-looking music organization around", performs in the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek and is a member of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras. It has been credited with "redefining the classical concert experience as we know it."

The Peninsula Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in the San Francisco Peninsula, California. The orchestra consists of over 90 community musicians. In 1995, the Peninsula Symphony was featured in a PBS broadcast.

Tony Clements is an American musician who was the Principal Tubist of the San Jose Symphony from 1981 until its closure in 2001. He subsequently became Principal Tubist and a soloist with its successor, Symphony Silicon Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masterworks Chorale</span> Choral ensemble based in San Mateo, California

Masterworks Chorale is a choral ensemble based in San Mateo, California.

The San Jose Symphony Orchestra was a symphony orchestra performing in San Jose, California. It performed in the Civic Auditorium through 1971, and the Center for the Performing Arts afterwards until its suspension in 2001 and dissolution in 2002.

Quartet San Francisco is a non-traditional and eclectic string quartet led by violinist Jeremy Cohen. The group played their first concert in 2001 and has recorded five albums. Playing a wide range of music genres including jazz, blues, tango, swing, funk, and pop, the group challenges the traditional classical music foundation of the string quartet.

Mason Wesley Bates is a Grammy award-winning American composer of symphonic music and DJ of electronic dance music. He is the first composer-in-residence of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and he has also been in residence with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the California Symphony. In addition to his notable works Mothership, Anthology of Fantastic Zoology, and The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, he composed the score to Gus Van Sant's film The Sea of Trees. In a 2018 survey of American orchestras, he was rated the second-most performed living composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra</span> Youth orchestra based in San Francisco, California

The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO) is a youth orchestra organized by the San Francisco Symphony. The SFSYO performs an annual concert series and has made several recordings. The orchestra rehearses in Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, and directed by Daniel Stewart since the 2019-2020 season.

Emanuel Leplin was a composer, conductor, and painter active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. He was born in San Francisco, and joined the San Francisco Symphony as a violist in 1941, conducting it in two of his own works, in 1941 and 1947. In 1954, he contracted polio, and afterward, was unable to hold a brush or compose using anything below his neck but the first three fingers of his right hand. With these fingers he composed three symphonies, a violin concerto, and many other works for orchestra and chamber groups.

George Wolfgang Cleve was an Austrian-born American conductor. He was best known for his interpretation of Mozart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Cato</span> American baritone singer

Ralph Cato is an American baritone singer. Cato has performed many styles of music including opera, oratorio, jazz, and musical theatre. Cato has performed on many stages globally, and in the United States, and is known to be a versatile and collaborative artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Pablo Jofre</span>

Juan Pablo Jofre is an Argentinian musician, composer, and arranger. He plays the bandoneon.

The B-Sides is a symphony in five movements for electronica and orchestra by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, with support from the Ralph I. Dorfman Commissioning Fund. It was premiered May 20, 2009 at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, with Michael Tilson Thomas leading the San Francisco Symphony.

Garages of the Valley is a single-movement orchestral composition by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was jointly commissioned by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. The world premiere was performed on March 6, 2014 in Stillwater, Minnesota by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra under conductor Scott Yoo. The European premiere was performed on June 30, 2015 in Ingolstadt, Germany during the opening concert of the 2015 Audi Sommerkonzerte Festival by the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra under conductor Donato Cabrera. The piece is dedicated to Dutch conductor Edo de Waart.

References

  1. ↑ Guersch, Mike (2002-11-25). "Striking a new chord, reborn S.J. symphony takes the stage to much applause". Archived from the original on 2002-11-28. Retrieved 2012-07-27.
  2. ↑ D'Souza, Karen (October 5, 2002). "S.J. Rep takes a bold step". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on October 20, 2002. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Los Angeles Times: Archives – QUICK TAKES; Third life for symphony". Los Angeles Times . 2003-07-18. Retrieved 2012-07-27.
  4. ↑ Charlotte Doughton Claude, A History of the San José Symphony Orchestra, 1879-1972. California State University, San José, M.A. thesis, 1973.
  5. ↑ And the Band Stopped Playing – The Rise and Fall of the San Jose Symphony
  6. ↑ Bergstein, Brian (October 23, 2001). "San Jose Symphony silenced for now". Associated Press. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  7. ↑ Guersch, Mike (November 14, 2002). "San Jose Symphony set to fold, file for bankuptcy". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on November 19, 2002. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  8. ↑ Kosman, Joshua (June 4, 2002). "San Jose Symphony to file for bankruptcy". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  9. ↑ Scheinin, Richard (March 2, 2004). "Symphony following opera to new venue". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on June 23, 2004. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Symphony grows audiences and support, finds solid ground – Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal". Sanjose.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2012-07-27.
  11. ↑ "GuideStar nonprofit reports and Forms 990 for donors, grantmakers and businesses". Guidestar.org. 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2012-07-27.
  12. ↑ "Fox Theatre". Archived from the original on August 16, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  13. ↑ Scheinin, Richard (October 3, 2004). "Sound decisions at California theatre". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on November 15, 2004. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  14. ↑ San Jose Redevelopment Agency – Downtown Project Fact Sheet
  15. ↑ "California Theatre Information and Architecture". Shomler.com. Retrieved 2012-07-27.
  16. ↑ California Theatre | San Jose – Innovation Starts Here | Team San Jose
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.