The New West Symphony is a regional professional symphony orchestra serving the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

metropolitan area. It was founded in 1995. The orchestra's players are professional musicians drawn from the rich pool of classical musicians in the Los Angeles region, many of whom work as session players for film, television and audio recording in the entertainment industry, and play for other area orchestras as well. The New West Symphony is a 501c3 charity governed by a 30-member board of directors. The orchestra is the resident company of 2 concert halls: the 1,500-seat

Oxnard Performing Arts Center Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

, and the 1,800-seat Kavli Theatre at the

Antoine Predock Antoine Predock ( ; born 1936 in Lebanon, Missouri) is an American architect based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is the principal of Antoine Predock Architect PC, the studio he founded in 1967. Predock first gained national attention with the La ...

-designed

Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is a performing arts center and city hall for the city of Thousand Oaks, California. Across Thousand Oaks Boulevard from Gardens of the World, the site is considered the downtown core of the city. City hall incl ...

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tree ...

. The organization offers six of classical programs annually with multiple concerts, with international guest artists usually featured soloists, as well as New West principal players upon occasion. The organization has a core audience of over 2,500 subscribers.

History

The symphony was founded in 1995 as the successor to two orchestras that ceased operations, the Ventura County Symphony and the Conejo Symphony Orchestra. Its founding music director was

Boris Brott Boris Brott, (March 14, 1944 – April 5, 2022) was a Canadian conductor and motivational speaker. He was one of the most internationally recognized Canadian conductors, having conducted on stages around the world, including Carnegie Hall and ...

, whose programming emphasized the 19th and 20th century symphonic repertoire. The organization went through a financial crisis around 2008, and musicians took pay cuts to help the New West to survive. In May 2012, the orchestra announced the appointment of Marcelo Lehninger, who had conducted the orchestra in January 2011 as an emergency substitution and then again in scheduled appearances in April 2012. Lehninger became music director on September 30, 2012. Lehninger performed for 3 seasons and left in 2016. In December, 2018 New West Symphony appointed new music director, GRAMMY(r) Award winner Michael Christie as its music director. The orchestra has served as the touring orchestra for Andrea Bocelli, completing its third such tour in 2010.

Educational programs

* The Symphonic Adventures program provides an introduction to symphonic music in the concert hall for elementary school children, combined with classroom curriculum that prepares the children for the concert hall performance. * The New West Symphony Music Van—sometimes called a “musical petting zoo”—maintains a year-round schedule touring the region visiting elementary schools and festivals. The Music Van provides hands-on experiences with orchestral instruments for thousands of children. * The Laby Harmony Project of the New West Symphony - offers tuition-free music education and instruments to underserved students in Ventura, and currently supports 160 students.

Community outreach

* Meet the Artist provides opportunities for the community to get acquainted with distinguished guest artists performing in the Masterpiece Series programs in an intimate one-on-one format. * Hear & Now Live are the New West's version of the venerable pre-concert lecture, given by David Ravetch in the concert hall immediately preceding the performances.

Auxiliaries

The New West Symphony League is an auxiliary organization affiliated with the New West Symphony Association and chartered to raise funds that support the Symphony’s programs.

References

External links

New West Symphony websiteThousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza website

Michael Christie
{{authority control Music of Los Angeles Musical groups from Ventura County, California Culture of Oxnard, California Organizations based in Santa Monica, California Culture of Thousand Oaks, California Musical groups established in 1995 Orchestras based in California 1995 establishments in California