The Peninsula Symphony is an American

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

, based in the

San Francisco Peninsula The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, south of Palo A ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The orchestra consists of over 90 community musicians. In 1995, the Peninsula Symphony was featured in a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

broadcast. Since its beginning, the symphony has performed four pairs of concerts in October, January, March, and May. It also performs two free concerts each year, an outdoor summer concert, and a spring family concert. The symphony also hosts competitions, presents awards for young artists, and organizes outreach programs in local schools, known as ''Bridges to Music''. A special ''Bridges to Music'' program for children with disabilities was started in 2016 by Board member and principal second violinist Deborah Passanisi. Each school year, the program culminates in a concert for teachers and parents, with the young performers singing and accompanied by a guitarist. Mitchell Sardou Klein has been

Music Director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

and Conductor of the Peninsula Symphony since 1985, and also directs the Peninsula Youth Orchestra. Nathaniel Berman currently serves as the Resident Conductor for the 74th season. History: The Peninsula Symphony was founded by Russian-born violinist/conductor Aaron Sten. In 1949, Aaron Sten became conductor of a small

Redwood City Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a po ...

group of musicians that he met while buying a house. Shortly after, a group of about 32 San Mateo musicians under the name The Peninsula Symphony disbanded and joined Aaron Sten's group. The resulting group of about 60 musicians formed an orchestra under the name Sequoia Symphony Orchestra and performed their first season. By the end of the second season, the name had changed to the Peninsula Symphony and in 1951, the non-profit Peninsula Symphony Association was incorporated. In that very first year, many features were established which were to become trademarks of the Peninsula Symphony: four concerts in October, January, March, and May; a balanced musical program featuring first-class guest artists; an attractive concert program with informative notes; and strong support from the community. In 1951, under Vincent Guida, symphony clarinetist and business manager, the organization was incorporated as a non-profit association, and a formal board was chosen. In 1952, Aaron Sten also founded the

California Youth Symphony California Youth Symphony (CYS) is a San Francisco Bay Area symphony orchestra for young musicians of high school age and younger. It was founded in 1952 by Aaron Sten and in 1963 became the first United States youth orchestra to tour abroad, per ...

, and began the tradition of incorporating outstanding young musicians into Peninsula Symphony performances. In 1956, Board President Robert L. Clark was the driving force behind the creation of the Peninsula Symphony Auxiliary, a women's volunteer group, which was instrumental to the development of an audience base. With no office or Executive Director yet, volunteers played a crucial role in symphony operations. In 1985, the symphony opened an office with executive director to manage its growth .''The Peninsula Symphony: The First Fifty Years'' by Dorothy and George Lunn, 1998 By 1985, the time had come to open an office in San Mateo and hire a paid Executive Director. Coincidentally, this was also the last year of founding conductor Aaron Sten’s leadership. With the arrival of current conductor Mitchell Sardou Klein, the Peninsula Symphony grew from a grassroots ensemble to a polished 90-plus member orchestra of well-trained community musicians. Following Sten’s tradition of nurturing young musicians, the Peninsula Youth Orchestra was established in the spring of 1997, with Mitchell Sardou Klein serving as the Music Director. The business office moved to Los Altos in 2001.

Music directors

Mitchell Sardou Klein (1985–present), is the Music Director and Conductor of the Peninsula Symphony and founding Music Director of the Peninsula Youth Orchestra (PYO). He regularly guest conducts orchestras in California, throughout the United States, and in Europe. He made his debut with

Symphony Silicon Valley 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 ...

in 2012. His other appearances as a guest conductor in California include the San José Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, the Inland Empire/Riverside Philharmonic,

Ballet San Jose Ballet San Jose was a ballet company based in San Jose, California, US, operating from 1985 to 2016. History The company was founded in 1985 as the "San Jose Cleveland Ballet," a co-venture with the ten-year-old Cleveland Ballet which offered to ...

, the California Riverside Ballet and the Livermore-Amador Philharmonic. Concerts elsewhere have included his return to Europe to guest conduct the New Polish Philharmonic and the Suddettic Philharmonic, concert tours of England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, Australia and New Zealand with PYO, numerous return engagements to the

San Jose Symphony 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 20 ...

(the predecessor of

), and his return to the podium of the Santa Cruz County Symphony. Prior guest conducting appearances have included the

Seattle Symphony The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera. History Beginnings The orchestra ...

, New Polish Philharmonic, Suddetic Philharmonic,

Richmond Symphony The Richmond Symphony is based in Richmond, Virginia and is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia and one of the nation's leading regional orchestras. The organization includes a full-time orchestra with more than 70 musicians ...

, Eastern Philharmonic, Flagstaff Festival Symphony, Amarillo Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, South Bend Symphony, and many others. Maestro Klein also has extensive experience in conducting ballet orchestras, including the

Kansas City Ballet The Kansas City Ballet (KCB) is an American professional ballet company based in Kansas City, Missouri. The company was founded in 1957 by Russian expatriate Tatiana Dokoudovska. The KCB presents five major performances each season to include ...

, Lone Star Ballet,

Oakland Ballet The Oakland Ballet Company is a non-profit ballet company based in Oakland, California. OBC was founded in 1965 by Ronn Guidi, an Oakland native, and gained international recognition through its historical reconstructions of ballets from the leg ...

, and Westport Ballet, as well as the Theater Ballet of San Francisco and

les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo is an all-male drag ballet troupe that parodies the conventions of romantic and classical ballet. The company's current artistic director is Tory Dobrin. The dancers portray both male and female roles in a h ...

. Klein directed over a hundred concerts as Associate Conductor of the Kansas City Philharmonic (where he was also Principal Pops Conductor and Principal Conductor of Starlight Theater, the Philharmonic’s summer home), and also served as Music Director of the Santa Cruz County Symphony. Klein was born in New York City, into a musical family that included members of the Claremont String Quartet and

Budapest String Quartet The Budapest String Quartet was a string quartet in existence from 1917 to 1967. It originally consisted of three Hungarians and a Dutchman; at the end, the quartet consisted of four Russians. A number of recordings were made for HMV/Victor t ...

. He began cello studies at age four with his father, Irving Klein, founder of the Claremont String Quartet. His mother, Elaine Hartong Klein, danced with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Since 1984, he has been Director of the Irving M. Klein International String Competition. Aaron Sten (1949–1985)

Assistant conductors

The Peninsula Symphony maintains an ongoing Assistant Conductor position for up and coming conductors. These conductors are usually responsible for leading one piece per subscription concert, organizing and conducting the annual family concert, and serving as personnel manager for the orchestra. *Nathaniel Berman, resident conductor (2022-present) *Hoh Chen (2018–2022) *Chad Goodman (2016–2018) *Nathaniel Berman (2012–2016) * Jessica Bejarano (2008-2012) *Geoffrey Gallegos (2003-2007) *Thomas Shoebotham (2001-2003) *Howard Rappaport (1999-2000) *

Sara Jobin Sara Jobin JOHBIHN(born October 26, 1970) is an American conductor. She is currently the principal conductor of the Center for Contemporary Opera. Early life and education Jobin was born in Norwood, Massachusetts and grew up in various suburb ...

(1997-1998)

Youth competitions

The symphony also has a tradition of incorporating outstanding young musicians, such as the winners of the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, Marilyn Mindell Piano Competition, and Young Musicians' Competition into its performances. Some notable examples are

Cathy Basrak Cathy Basrak (born 1977) is an American violist. She is the Assistant Principal Violist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and gave the premiere of the John Williams' viola concerto. She previously won several important viola competitions such as t ...

Frank Huang Frank Xin Huang (born September 5, 1978) is a Chinese-born American violinist and teacher. Since 2015 he has been the concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic. Previous to his position in New York, Huang was the first violinist of the Ying Qua ...

Jennifer Koh Jennifer Koh (born 1976) is an American violinist, born to Korean parents in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Life and career Koh earned a B.A. in English Literature from Oberlin College, as well as a Performance Diploma from the attached Oberlin Conservat ...

, and

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Premieres

The symphony seeks out premieres and commissioned works. For its 50th season (May 1999), the Peninsula Symphony commissioned notable composer

Melissa Hui Melissa Hui is a Chinese-Canadian composer and pianist. She was born in 1966 in Hong Kong and currently resides in Montreal where she has been a faculty member at McGill University since 2010. Notable works by this artist include ''and blue sparks ...

to create ''Always'', a work for

taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming m ...

, chorus, and orchestra. The symphony has also commissioned ''Leaving Bai-Di'' by the Chinese-American composer Gang Situ in March 2008, and Lee Actor's ''Concerto for Piano and Orchestra'' in May 2013. In May 2018 the symphony performed the West Coast premiere of ''Garages of the Valley'' by

Mason Bates Mason Wesley Bates (born January 23, 1977) 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 be ...

Guest artists

The Peninsula Symphony has a tradition of bringing guest soloists for concerts. Some notable examples are: * Soyeon Kate Lee,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Renee Rapier,

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

Joyce Yang Joyce Yang (Korean name 양희원, born 11 April 1986 in Seoul, Korea) is a classical pianist. Yang was awarded the silver medal at the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the age of 19. During the same competition, Joyce was also ...

David Benoit David Bryan Benoit (born August 18, 1953) is an American jazz pianist, composer and producer, based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Benoit has charted over 25 albums since 1980, and has been nominated for three Grammy Awards. He is a ...

jazz piano Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

Conrad Tao Conrad Yiwen Tao (born June 11, 1994) is an American composer and pianist and former violinist. Tao's piano and violin performances since childhood brought him early recognition at music festivals and competitions. At age 13, he was featured on t ...

Emi Ferguson Emi Ferguson is an English-American flutist, performer, singer, composer, and professor at the Juilliard School. Early life Ferguson was born in Japan to English people, English parents. A few years later, her family moved to London and then to ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

Garrick Ohlsson Garrick Olof Ohlsson (born April 3, 1948) is an American classical pianist. He is the only American to have won first prize in the International Chopin Piano Competition, at the VIII competition in 1970. He also won first prize at the Busoni Com ...

Taylor Eigsti Taylor Eigsti (born September 24, 1984) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Eigsti's trio features bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Eric Harland. He is also a member of Eric Harland Voyager, Kendrick Scott Oracle, and Gretchen Parlato's ...

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saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

John O'Conor John O'Conor (born 18 January 1947) is an Irish pianist and pedagogue, and former director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Early career Born in Dublin, O'Conor attended Belvedere College in that city. During his early Dublin studies, his ...

Quartet San Francisco 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, ...

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

Elizabeth Pitcairn Elizabeth Pitcairn (born December 5, 1973) is a renowned American classical violinist who is noted for performing on the 1720 "Red Mendelssohn" Antonio Stradivari violin. In addition to a solo career, Pitcairn is President and Artistic Director ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

Jon Nakamatsu Jon Yasuhiro Nakamatsu (born 1968, San Jose, California) is an American classical pianist who resides in San Jose. About He is the son of David Y. Nakamatsu, a San Jose electrical engineer, and Karen F. Maeda Nakamatsu, a city employee. He wa ...

* Angel Romero,

classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...

Larry Adler Lawrence Cecil Adler (February 10, 1914 – August 6, 2001) was an American harmonica player. Known for playing major works, he played compositions by George Gershwin, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Malcolm Arnold, Darius Milhaud and Arthur Benjamin. ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

Chris Brubeck Christopher Brubeck is an American musician and composer, both in jazz and classical music. As a musician, he mainly plays electric bass, bass trombone, and piano. The son of noted jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck, in 1972 he joined his fath ...

, Dan Brubeck, jazz musicians *

Jiebing Chen Jiebing Chen (; sometimes credited as Jie-Bing Chen) is a Chinese musician based in the United States who specializes in the erhu (two-string fiddle). Biography Born in Shanghai, China, Chen turned professional when she was 9 and became a soldier ...

erhu The ''erhu'' (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a ''Southern Fiddle'', and is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two-s ...

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piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

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soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

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* Richard Woodhams,

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

Nicanor Zabaleta Nicanor Zabaleta (January 7, 1907 – April 1, 1993) was a Spanish harpist. Zabaleta was born in San Sebastián, Spain, on January 7, 1907. In 1914 his father, an amateur musician, bought him a harp in an antique shop. He soon began taking ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

Performance venues

Centered in the

, the Peninsula Symphony has performed at several local performance halls. These include the

Flint Center De Anza College is a public community college in Cupertino, California. It is part of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, which also administers Foothill College in nearby Los Altos Hills, California. The college is named after the ...

, San Mateo Performing Arts Center,

Fox Theatre (Redwood City, California) The Fox Theatre in Redwood City, CA opened in 1929, was remodeled in 1950, and was listed on National Register of Historic Places in 1994. History The Fox Theatre opened its door to the public on January 2, 1929 as The New Sequoia Theater by Ell ...

Bing Concert Hall Bing Concert Hall is a performing arts facility at Stanford University that opened in January 2013. The heart of the building is the oval-shaped concert hall, which has 842 seats arranged in a vineyard style surrounding the stage in terraces. ...

, Spangenberg Theatre, and

Stanford Memorial Church Stanford Memorial Church (also referred to informally as MemChu) is located on the Main Quad at the center of the Stanford University campus in Stanford, California, United States. It was built during the American RenaissanceGregg, p. 34 by ...

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from the San Francisco Bay Area Musical groups established in 1949 Orchestras based in California 1949 establishments in California