The Sacramento Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra in the Sacramento region, established in 1997 after the disbandment of the Sacramento Symphony that same year. Led by Maestro Michael Morgan until his death in 2021, the orchestra performs at the

Community Center Theatre The Sacramento Convention Center Complex is a complex of entertainment venues and a convention center located in downtown Sacramento, California. The complex consists of the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center (formerly Community Center Thea ...

and at the

Mondavi Center The Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue located on the UC Davis campus in unincorporated Yolo County, California. It is named for arts patron and vineyard operator Robert Mondavi, who donated US$10 ...

at the University of California, Davis

History

Sacramento Symphony Orchestra

The Sacramento Symphony was established in 1948 and rapidly became a large regional orchestra made up of local professional musicians. However, starting in 1986 and continuing through the mid-1990s, the Sacramento Symphony had severe administrative difficulties and ran into significant operating deficits, repeatedly filing for bankruptcy. Despite several moderate bail-outs from businesses, the general public and local government, in 1997 the Sacramento Symphony officially closed its doors. Directors included

Fritz Berens Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridolin ...

(1956?-1963?), who helped found the

Sacramento Youth Symphony The Sacramento Youth Symphony (SYS) was founded in 1956 as a 55-member youth orchestra, associated with the Sacramento Symphony Association. The Sacramento Symphony has since ceased operations and the Sacramento Youth Symphony became incorporated as ...

Harry Newstone Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

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1965–78), who oversaw the move from the Memorial Auditorium (Sacramento), Memorial Auditorium and the Hiram Johnson High School Auditorium (where most of the concerts were held ) to the new Community Center,

Carter Nice Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter ...

(1979–92) and Geoffrey Simon.

The Sacramento Philharmonic

Established the same year as the Symphony shut down, the new Sacramento Philharmonic, composed almost entirely of the same orchestra members, featured a significantly smaller schedule. The Philharmonic, with the support of

Sacramento County Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854. Sacramento County is the ...

, sought to avoid the unfortunate fate of the defunct Symphony and requested several market studies from national firms to help determine the potential for professional orchestral music in the Sacramento region. With a similar population to Cleveland, which has a world-famous orchestra in the highest calibre, the potential, as determined by the studies, seemed positive. In 2013, the Sacramento Philharmonic merged with the Sacramento Opera to form the Sacramento Region Performing Arts Alliance. A year after the merger, the new group announced it would sit out the 2014–15 season due to financial problems and disagreements between leaders of the two formerly separate organizations. In April 2015, the organization announced that it would reopen for the 2015–16 season. The group promoted its return with a series of surprise flash-mob style performances at locations throughout the city.

References

1999 article at SFCV
{{Authority control Culture of Sacramento, California Musical groups established in 1948 Arts organizations established in 1948 Orchestras based in California