December 5, 2018
Bow a violin or a cello, pucker up to a trumpet, clack a castanet, or see if you can get a note out of the clarinet that doesn’t summon a flock of Canada Geese: The California Symphony’s Instrument Petting Zoo offers the chance to get up close and personal with instruments you can see on
November 20, 2018
An animated holiday classic, a Grammy-winning choir, mulled wine & cocoa to sip at your seat… Get the scoop on what to expect when you come to one of the California Symphony’s holiday concerts. There’s nothing quite like the buzzing atmosphere of the California Symphony’s holiday concerts, with the aroma of mulled wine in the
November 20, 2018
From Sesame Street to the Simpsons and rubber chickens, Tchaikovsky’s classic has been given some interesting treatments through the years. Here’s our pick of 11 of the best (and the worst.) 1. The Simpsons — Cause Christmas Eve is Here “Why should I care it’s all humbug.” — Montgomery Burns 2. Sesame Street Elmo gets down with Jamie
November 20, 2018
Cadence Strange, 12, gets up at 5:30 a.m. to make the two-hour commute from Pittsburg by bus and BART to Oakland, where he attends the Pacific Boychoir Academy. In addition to taking regular classes, Cadence spends three hours a day studying music theory, learning to sight-read, and rehearsing choral works in Latin and German. California Symphony
November 20, 2018
Tavian Roberts, 12, is a student at the Pacific Boychoir Academy in Oakland, the only full-time boys’ chorus school on the west coast of North America. The choir school integrates a full academic curriculum with daily musical instruction for boys in grades 4–8. Tavian sings with the choir for the California Symphony’s ’Tis the Symphony
November 20, 2018
Rich, satisfying, and smooth. That’s not just the sound that California Symphony’s Catherine Matovich makes when she plays her viola. Here, Catherine shares her recipe for mulled wine—the perfect, warming, spiced beverage of the season. What You’ll Need… 2 bottles of red wine, preferably Cabernet 1 bottle Muscat Canelli or similar wine 1 orange studded with
November 20, 2018
Kim Rooker is the Bay Area’s go-to expert in productions featuring movies with the soundtrack played by a live orchestra for over a decade. We go behind the scenes with Kim to learn how the orchestral, live movie magic comes together—so the images you see on screen stay in time with the music. Walking in the
November 11, 2018
Music Director Donato Cabrera writes from Linz, Austria, on a day commemorating the end of World War One. The announcing of the armistice on November 11, 1918, was the occasion for large celebrations in the allied nations. Today is the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day — Veterans Day in the U.S.— commemorating the end of WWI, which ended on
November 9, 2018
What do thimbles have to do with Katherine Balch’s next composition for the California Symphony? Read on for an update on the concerto she is writing for violinist Robyn Bollinger that is set to premiere at the 2018–19 season closer. Left: Robyn Bollinger. Right: Katherine Balch with Robyn and thimble. By California Symphony Young American Composer-in-Residence Katherine
November 5, 2018
Thanks for joining me! Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton