With support from the California Arts Council, the Santa Monica Symphony will continue our decades-long practice of delivering professional classical music concerts to the community and providing music education and connection programs to both youth and seniors in Southern California. Funding will aid in our continued operations, which include targeted outreach to new audiences, on-site music therapy with Watermark Retirement Community, and competitive compensation for working California musicians, including 21 members of the American Federation of Musicians Local 47, AFL-CIO/CLC.
Each season, the SMS presents five, full-length orchestral concerts, free and open to the public. In addition to mainstage performances, the SMS introduces young people to classical music at local schools, presents chamber music performances at community locations, and provides music learning opportunities via community partnerships. Outreach initiatives include Chair-to-Chair open rehearsals, where local school children are invited to attend rehearsals, try out instruments, and interact with the musicians; chamber music performances at local Title I elementary schools and rotating public settings; and a developing partnership serving older adults at the Watermark at Beverly Hill retirement community.