Symphony silicon valley
Encyclopedia
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 ovations on November 23, 2002 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. Started initially by Ballet San Jose as a way to keep their core musicians employed and in town after the closure of the San Jose Symphony, the orchestra was so successful that it was spun off as its own separate nonprofit organization after the first year.
Symphony Silicon Valley built on the rich musical heritage of the San Jose Symphony by hiring some 75 of the former orchestra's nationally recruited union
musicians and regularly employing them to allow them to remain in the area.
performances, produces the free outdoor Target
Summer Pops festival, and performs special engagements in venues such as Villa Montalvo
, Lake Cunningham Park
, Discovery Meadow, San Francisco's Masonic Auditorium and Moscone Center
and the Ritz-Carlton
Half Moon Bay
. The symphony frequently acts as the backing orchestra for special events and headline artists such as Video Games Live
and Frank Sinatra, Jr.
and has performed a number of world premieres.
In 2004, the orchestra moved to their new home, the magnificently restored California Theatre. In 2005 when the San Jose State University Community Chorus was displaced from their university home, Symphony Silicon Valley took on the chorus as the Symphony Silicon Valley Chorale.
and stagehands and ushers from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes
.
, noted architects of the nearby Sainte Claire Hotel
, Oakland's Fox Theatre
, and San Francisco's Mark Hopkins Hotel. After years of neglect, the Vaudeville
and movie palace finally closed in 1973. It remained vacant and was almost lost through neglect, though purchased by the San Jose Redevelopment Agency in 1985. In 2001, work began in earnest to restore it to its 1920s glory and adapt it for use as a modern opera house and concert hall. The theatre reopened on September 17, 2004 to great acclaim and the symphony opened their first concert in the hall on October 9, 2004. Today after a $75 Million renovation and expansion, the theater seats 1,119 and has some of the finest acoustics in the Bay Area.
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
and the South Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. Founded in 2002 following the demise of the San Jose Symphony
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 and dissolution in 2001...
, the orchestra debuted to rave reviews and standing ovations on November 23, 2002 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. Started initially by Ballet San Jose as a way to keep their core musicians employed and in town after the closure of the San Jose Symphony, the orchestra was so successful that it was spun off as its own separate nonprofit organization after the first year.
Background
San Jose has a long history of symphonic music, beginning in 1877 when the town was nothing more than a small collection of homes in a dusty agricultural valley. The founding of what became the San Jose Symphony two years later made that organization one of the oldest continuously operating orchestras in American and older than all of the “big five” orchestras save New York's. In October, 2001, the San Jose Symphony closed its doors in a bid to restructure. But when, more than a year later, the organization was unable to recover San Jose Symphony declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy and was desolved.Symphony Silicon Valley built on the rich musical heritage of the San Jose Symphony by hiring some 75 of the former orchestra's nationally recruited union
American Federation of Musicians
The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada is a labor union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada...
musicians and regularly employing them to allow them to remain in the area.
Growth
What started as a four performance season in 2002 has today grown into 20 classical performances per year. With the addition of the orchestra's Broadway In Concert season of lighter fare in the 2009/2010 season, the company increased the number of days of work for the musicians by 40%. In addition to these two core seasons, the symphony accompanies most Ballet San JoseBallet San Jose
Ballet San Jose in San Jose, California, USA, was founded in 1986 as the "San Jose Cleveland Ballet," a co-venture with the ten-year old Cleveland Ballet which offered to the dancers added performing exposure, and each city a ballet company for a moderate, shared investment...
performances, produces the free outdoor Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
Summer Pops festival, and performs special engagements in venues such as Villa Montalvo
Villa Montalvo
Villa Montalvo is an Italian Mediterranean style mansion nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, in Saratoga, California, United States. It was constructed from 1912 to 1914 by California statesman and businessman James Duval Phelan. After Phelan's death, it was donated to the state...
, Lake Cunningham Park
Lake Cunningham
Lake Cunningham Park is an artificial lake in East San Jose, California, near the Eastridge Mall and Eastridge Transit Center. It is not a geological feature recognized in the Geographic Names Information System . It is located on Capitol Expressway and stands next to Reid-Hillview Airport...
, Discovery Meadow, San Francisco's Masonic Auditorium and Moscone Center
Moscone Center
Moscone Center is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California. It comprises three main halls: Two underground halls underneath Yerba Buena Gardens, known as Moscone North and Moscone South, and a three-level Moscone West exhibition hall across 4th Street...
and the Ritz-Carlton
Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton is a brand of luxury hotels and resorts with 75 properties located in major cities and resorts in 24 countries worldwide...
Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay, California
Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, USA. Its population was 11,324 as of the 2010 census. Immediately at the north of Half Moon Bay is the Pillar Point Harbor and the unincorporated community of Princeton-by-the-Sea....
. The symphony frequently acts as the backing orchestra for special events and headline artists such as Video Games Live
Video Games Live
Video Games Live is a concert series created and produced by industry veterans and video game composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall. The concerts consist of segments of video game music performed by a live orchestra with video footage and synchronized lighting and effects, as well as several...
and Frank Sinatra, Jr.
Frank Sinatra, Jr.
Franklin Wayne Sinatra , professionally known as Frank Sinatra, Jr., is an American singer, songwriter and conductor....
and has performed a number of world premieres.
In 2004, the orchestra moved to their new home, the magnificently restored California Theatre. In 2005 when the San Jose State University Community Chorus was displaced from their university home, Symphony Silicon Valley took on the chorus as the Symphony Silicon Valley Chorale.
Fiscal Responsibility
Symphony Silicon Valley was founded on the principle of market responsiveness. This principle has kept the orchestra in the black every year of its existence and also seen it bring in a much higher earned income ratio than its competitors. The organization also believes in paying a fair wage to its musicians, stagehands and staff and employs musicians from the American Federation of MusiciansAmerican Federation of Musicians
The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada is a labor union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada...
and stagehands and ushers from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or I.A.T.S.E., is a labor union representing technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live theatre, motion...
.
California Theatre
Originally opened in 1927, the California Theatre was designed by Weeks and DayWeeks and Day
Weeks and Day was an American architectural firm founded in 1916 by architect Charles Peter Weeks and engineer William Peyton Day ....
, noted architects of the nearby Sainte Claire Hotel
Hotel Sainte Claire
The Hotel Sainte Claire is a hexagonal six-story hotel in downtown San Jose, California, one of the city's most recognized architectural landmarks...
, Oakland's Fox Theatre
Fox Oakland Theatre
The Fox Oakland Theatre is a 2,800-seat movie theater, located at 1807 Telegraph Avenue in downtown Oakland, California. The theater was designed by Weeks and Day, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and reopened on February 5, 2009....
, and San Francisco's Mark Hopkins Hotel. After years of neglect, the Vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and movie palace finally closed in 1973. It remained vacant and was almost lost through neglect, though purchased by the San Jose Redevelopment Agency in 1985. In 2001, work began in earnest to restore it to its 1920s glory and adapt it for use as a modern opera house and concert hall. The theatre reopened on September 17, 2004 to great acclaim and the symphony opened their first concert in the hall on October 9, 2004. Today after a $75 Million renovation and expansion, the theater seats 1,119 and has some of the finest acoustics in the Bay Area.