The San Bernardino Symphony orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Founded in 1929 by newspaper magnate and conductor, James K. Guthrie, the San Bernardino Symphony is one of the oldest professional orchestras in the state of California. They put on a concert subscription season and many additional performances throughout the region. In addition to their subscription concerts series, the Symphony provides two free concerts for the schools serving over 3,000 students annually, introductory workshops (live and virtual) on orchestral instruments for every local third grade class (approximately 5,000 students annually) in the San Bernardino City USD, and master classes/music workshops for students of all ages. They also offer a certificated Symphony Teens program providing job skills training to local high school students. The orchestra performs the majority of their season at the historic California Theatre of the Performing Arts. The orchestra's current music director is Anthony R. Parnther, since 2019. After a two-year long international search, the San Bernardino Symphony appointed Anthony R. Parnther music director in 2019, making him one of the only

Black conductors Black conductors are musicians of African, Caribbean, African-American ancestry and other members of the African diaspora who are musical ensemble leaders who direct classical music performances, such as an orchestral or choral concerts, or j ...

of a professional orchestra in the United States. The Symphony maintains a number of education programs and provides an arts experience for many thousands each year.

Guthrie Music Rental Library

The Guthrie Library, owned and operated by the San Bernardino Symphony, is named after Maestro James K. Guthrie. In 2020, American singer, pianist, and music revivalist

Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for cele ...

donated a portion of his personal collection to the Guthrie.

Conductors/Music Directors

* Jay Plowe (1929-1933) * James Guthrie (1935-1961) * Joseph Pearlman (1962-1965) * Rudolph Picardi (1965-1968) * Michael Perriere (1968-1976) * Meredith Wilson (1976) * Alberto Bolet (1976-1980) * Gregory Millar (1981-1982) * Thomas Nee (1981) * Donald Ambroson (1983-1984) * Dr. Ben Eby (1983-1984) * Don Th. Jaeger (1983-1984 & 1984) *

Stewart Robertson Stewart Robertson (born 22 May 1948, Glasgow''International Who's Who in Classical Music 2009''. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group (2009), p. 693 ()) is a Scottish conductor. He attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Bristol U ...

(1989-2001) * Carlo Ponti, Jr. (2001-2013) * Frank Fetta (2013-2017) * Two-Year Conductor Search (2017-2019) * Anthony R. Parnther (2019–present)

Performance Venues

File:California Theatre, San Bernardino.JPG,

California Theatre (San Bernardino) The California Theatre of the Performing Arts or simply referred to as the California Theatre is a performing arts center in the historic Downtown San Bernardino, Downtown area of San Bernardino, California. Originally a part of the Fox Theatres, ...

, the San Bernardino Symphony's principal performance venue File:Redlands Bowl, Redlands CA.jpg,

Redlands Bowl The Redlands Bowl is an amphitheatre in Redlands, California, USA, founded in 1924. It is used for music and theatrical performances which are offered to the public at no charge. The existing structure was commissioned and built by Florence and ...

, the orchestra performed at the Bowls Summer Music Festival for many years

Symphony Guild

The San Bernardino Symphony Guild was founded in 1984. Activities include Music in the Schools through which Symphony docents introduce the instruments of the orchestra to third grade classes in the San Bernardino City Unified School District. The Guild also provides post-concert receptions for patrons, they provide refreshments for the musicians, amenities for guest artists, and hold a number of arts-related events throughout each year.

References

External links

San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra website
Orchestras based in California Culture of San Bernardino, California Musical groups established in 1929 1929 establishments in California {{US-orchestra-stub