SYMPHONY SILICON VALLEY
325 S 1ST STREET NO 160, SAN JOSE, CA 95113 www.symphonysiliconvalley.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: TO PROVIDE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PERFORMANCES, EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, AND ARTS ADVOCACY PROGRAMS.

SYMPHONY SILICON VALLEY ("THE SYMPHONY") JOINED MUCH OF THE NATION IN HALTING ALL ITS ACTIVITIES IN LATE FEBRUARY 2020 IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. THE FIRST HALF OF THE 2019-20 SEASON WAS COMPLETED, HOWEVER, BEFORE THE FORCED CANCELLATION OF THE YEAR'S REMAINING PROGRAMS.FOUR OUT OF SEVEN CLASSICS PROGRAMS (NINE OF 15 PLANNED PERFORMANCES), FOR EXAMPLE, WERE PERFORMED BEFORE THE LOCKDOWN. THE TWO OPENING CONCERT SETS IN OCTOBER WERE HIGHLIGHTED BY A LOCAL PREMIERE (KODALY'S ENGAGING PEACOCK VARIATIONS) AND A LONG-AWAITED SSV COMMISSION BY WORLD MUSICIAN DAVID AMRAM. A DOUBLE CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND CELLO, IT WAS WRITTEN IN TRIBUTE TO SIX MUSICIANS WHO GREATLY INFLUENCED AMRAM'S OWN LIFE WORK, INCLUDING WOODY GUTHRIE, BILLIE HOLLIDAY, AND AFRO-CUBAN MASTER MACHITO GRILLO. THE SYMPHONY'S THIRD PROGRAM, IN DECEMBER, WAS ANCHORED BY KHACHATURIAN'S EXPRESSIVE PIANO CONCERTO PERFORMED TO AUDIENCE CHEERS BY FIERY ARMENIAN PIANIST NAREH ARGHMANYAN. SSV'S JANUARY SUBSCRIPTION PROGRAM WAS DESIGNED AS AN EXPERIMENT IN AUDIENCE-BUILDING, ADDRESSING BOTH CLASSICS LOVERS AND FANS OF SSV'S SUCCESSFUL FILMS-WITH-ORCHESTRA. A PROMISING NUMBER OF THOSE FANS JOINED THE CLASSICS AUDIENCE FOR THE FILM THE RED VIOLIN WITH SOLOIST LARA ST. JOHN LEADING THE FULL ORCHESTRA IN ITS FAMED SCORE. SSV'S NEXT CONCERT SEASON WILL REPEAT THE EXPERIMENT WITH THE FILM AMADEUS, IMMERSING AUDIENCES IN MOZART'S SHORT LIFE AND IMMORTAL MUSIC. SSV CONTINUES TO CULTIVATE ITS ROSTER OF OUTSTANDING GUEST CONDUCTORS. THE SEPTEMBER AND DECEMBER CONCERTS WERE LED BY MAESTROS CARLOS VIEU, A REGULAR GUEST FROM ARGENTINA, AND PIETRO RIZZO FROM ITALY IN HIS FIRST APPEARANCE WITH SSV. LATE OCTOBER FEATURED RENOWNED MAESTRA JOANN FALLETTA IN HER SECOND PROGRAM WITH SSV. (A THIRD WAS PLANNED FOR FY21). FALLETTA INTRODUCED LISTENERS TO THE WORK OF NOTED 20TH CENTURY COMPOSER NADIA BOULANGER; WHILE BRAHMS, RACHMANINOFF AND TCHAIKOVSKY COMPLETED THE THREE PROGRAMS.EACH YEAR SYMPHONY SILICON VALLEY'S FILM-WITH-ORCHESTRA SERIES ATTRACTS YOUNG, DIVERSE, AND EXUBERANT AUDIENCES TO POPULAR FILMS SHOWN ON OVER-SIZED SCREENS, WITH THEIR HIGH-PROFILE SCORES PERFORMED BY THE FULL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. THESE CONCERTS INTRODUCE THEIR AUDIENCES TO THE MAGIC OF LIVE ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCE IN A WELCOMING SETTING. THEY ARE EXTENDING SSV'S SERVICES DEEPER INTO THE COMMUNITY, WHILE EXPANDING EMPLOYMENT FOR THE SYMPHONY MUSICIANS.THREE HARRY POTTER FILMS WERE SCHEDULED FOR FY19-20, A FLOURISH TO CLOSE SSV'S PRESENTATION OF THE EIGHT-FILM SERIES. THE FINAL TWO OF THESE, PLANNED FOR LATE FEBRUARY AND APRIL, TELL A SINGLE CLIMACTIC STORY. LATE SALES HAD REPEATEDLY PEAKED FOR THE SIX EARLIER FILMS; BUT FEBRUARY SALES FOR THE UPCOMING CONCERTS DROPPED ABRUPTLY AS CONCERN ABOUT THE PANDEMIC SPREAD. THE CLOSING FILM OF THE HARRY POTTER SERIES WAS FINALLY POSTPONED FROM APRIL 2020 TO AN INDETERMINATE FUTURE DATE.BY OCTOBER 2019, ARTSPARK, SSV'S FREE AND LIVELY IN-THEATER EDUCATION CONCERT SERIES, WAS FULLY BOOKED FOR 4,000 FOURTH GRADERS. THE MAJORITY OF ITS PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS ARE TITLE ONE, WITH 70% OF THE STUDENTS ON FREE LUNCH PROGRAMS; AND AN ESSENTIAL ARTSPARK COMPONENT IS FREE BUSSING FOR EVERY CLASSROOM. IN COLLABORATION WITH THE COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION, IN 2018-19 THE IN-CLASS MATERIALS WERE REDESIGNED TO INTEGRATE MUSIC MORE FULLY INTO THE FOURTH- GRADE CURRICULUM. THEY WERE AN IMMEDIATE SUCCESS, ENGAGING BOTH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. IN 2019-20 THE CONCERTS AND SCHOOLS WERE AGAIN SCHEDULED FOR MID-SPRING, BUT WERE NECESSARILY CANCELLED BY COVID19.SYMPHONY SILICON VALLEY CHORALE OPENED ITS SEASON IN OCTOBER WITH A NEW MANDARIN-LANGUAGE ORATORIO PERFORMED IN COLLABORATION WITH GUEST SOLOISTS FROM CHINA AND A LOCAL UNIVERSITY ORCHESTRA. ITS POPULAR HOLIDAY CONCERT IN DECEMBER DREW ITS LARGEST-EVER COMMUNITY AUDIENCE. LATER IN THE YEAR, THE CHORALE WAS TO JOIN THE SSV ORCHESTRA IN VAUGHN WILLIAMS' MASSIVELY DRAMATIC SEA SYMPHONY. INSTEAD, THE SINGERS AND MAESTRA SHARKOVA 'GATHERED' FOR VIRTUAL SESSIONS THROUGHOUT THE REMAINING SEASON.IN ADDITION TO PERFORMANCE COLLABORATIONS, EVERY SEASON SSV PROVIDES OTHER COMMUNITY GROUPS REGULAR PRODUCTION SUPPORT IN ITS HEAVILY BOOKED HOME CONCERT HALL. FROM SHARING SYMPHONY THEATER DATES AND EQUIPMENT TO HIRING THEIR UNION LABOR ON SSV'S CONTRACTS, THESE SERVICES BENEFIT BOTH FELLOW COMMUNITY ARTISTS AND THEIR AUDIENCES. IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2019-20, PARTICIPANTS INCLUDED FOUR YOUTH ORCHESTRAS PERFORMING MULTIPLE CONCERTS; TWO CHOIRS; A NOTED LOCAL DANCE COMPANY; A CORPORATE EMPLOYEE EVENT; AND A WEEK-LONG SCHOOL MUSIC RECITAL. DURING THE CLOSURES THAT BEGAN IN MARCH 2020, THE SYMPHONY'S FIRST PRIORITY WAS TO REMAIN IN TOUCH WITH AND SUPPORT THE MUSICIANS. THANKS TO THE FEDERAL PAYROLL PROTECTION PROGRAM, IT WAS ULTIMATELY ABLE TO PAY THE ORCHESTRA MUSICIANS AND KEY THEATER STAFF WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE EARNED HAD SSV'S 2019-20 PERFORMANCE SEASON CONTINUED AS PLANNED. AFTER 2020-21'S HIATUS, THE SYMPHONY PLANS TO LAUNCH THE 2021-22 SEASON WITH A COMMUNITY-WIDE CELEBRATION: A LABOR DAY WEEKEND OF ALL-FREE OUTDOOR SUMMER CONCERTS PERFORMED IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHER LOCAL ARTISTS. A FULL PERFORMANCE SEASON IS THEN SET TO OPEN IN OCTOBER, CONTINGENT SOLELY ON THE STATUS OF THE PUBLIC'S HEALTH.

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