LONG BEACH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Long Beach Symphony Orchestra (LBSO) has grown with its community since 1935. From its beginnings as a recreational community orchestra and its incorporation in 1945, LBSO has steadily improved its artistic stature, managerial professionalism, volunteer involvement, educational programs, and community engagement initiatives. Now in its 78th season, LBSO is one of Southern California’s most professional and celebrated performing arts institutions. Supported by its community constituents and funding partners, LBSO continues to fulfill its mission: The mission of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra is to enrich our community by providing high-quality traditional and contemporary symphonic music and life-shaping educational experiences. A HISTORICAL SKETCH In these early years of the 21st century, the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra is viewed as an authentic performing-arts success story. Led by Enrique Arturo Diemecke, a maestro with international credentials, LBSO is composed of A-list musicians, including many of Hollywood’s top studio players. Each season the orchestra delights audiences from the greater metropolitan area and beyond with its Classics series at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, Terrace Theater, “indoor picnic” Orchestra POPS! concerts at the Long Beach Arena and a holiday celebration concert at the Terrace Theater. It also serves 25,000+ local students during the school year through its acclaimed music-education programs. Today’s highly professional, 83-member orchestra is far different from the “recreational ensemble” of volunteer musicians that organized and first performed in 1935 under the baton of Robert Resta. It remained in the simple and informal mode for three decades. In 1958, the Orchestra added youth concerts to better serve the community. Then, in 1966, the Orchestra’s season expanded from four to 23 concerts with the addition of pops and children’s programs and opera performances. Seven years later the popular summer Starlight Serenades were introduced, instantly attracting crowds of up to 5,000 people. DECADE OF MATURING Under the leadership of Maestro Alberto Bolet from 1968 to 1978, LBSO matured from community to professional orchestra status. Season subscriptions grew, and youth concerts and out-of-town appearances were added. The major highlight of this period was the opening of the city’s new concert hall, the Terrace Theater, which gave the orchestra a world-class venue in which to perform. In 1978 legendary concert pianist Van Cliburn headlined the debut of the Symphony in its new home. An exciting era for the Orchestra began in 1980 with the arrival of Music Director Murray Sidlin. Maestro Sidlin completely restructured the orchestra, auditioning the entire ensemble and recruiting seasoned, professional musicians from Los Angeles’s rich reservoir of talent. The artistic successes that followed unfortunately were not matched by growth in financial support. In November 1984, following the opening concert of the 50th anniversary season, the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra was silenced by mounting debts. A task force appointed by the mayor of Long Beach called for reorganization through new leadership, restructuring, repayment of the debt and strict financial controls. Within two years the debt was eliminated. CONSECUTIVE SOLD-OUT SEASONS JoAnn Falletta became music director in 1989, and the Orchestra immediately experienced the first of three consecutive sold-out Classics seasons. Education and outreach programs also expanded during her tenure. LBSO received its first American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music in 1996. In October 1998 Falletta and the Orchestra released the Orchestra’s inaugural compact disc, Impressions of the Sea. The repertoire for this CD was chosen to celebrate the June 1998 opening of the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. In June 2000 Falletta and the Orchestra released a second compact disc, Pictures. This CD was done through the “Music and Art for the Millennium” project, which was a collaboration between the Orchestra, the Long Beach Museum of Art and the Long Beach Unified School District. ORCHESTRA POPS! LBSO’s 60th anniversary season (1994-95) marked another exciting chapter in its history with the appointment of the Orchestra’s first principal pops conductor, Michael Krajewski. Upon his arrival the audience voted on a theme song for Maestro Krajewski—the theme from the movie Rocky. During his tenure, thousands attending “Southern California’s Greatest Indoor Musical Picnics” cheered wildly whenever this song signaled the beloved and comedic conductor’s entrance. Krajewski's tenure ended in 2008 as he became more in demand around the country. In 2009 the LBSO caught a rising star, Steven Reineke, who energized audiences with his "rock star" approach to the performances. The phrase "This Ain't Your Daddy's POPS!" was coined by a local reviewer and associated with the Maestro Reineke during his three-season tenure. INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED MAESTRO In 2001, LBSO named Enrique Arturo Diemecke to be its new music director. Since then, Maestro Diemecke has won the hearts of audience members, LBSO musicians, community and media. The 2004–2005 season saw Maestro Diemecke conduct the world premiere of his work Concierto a Celedonio, composed at the request of the celebrated guitarist Pepe Romero, who was the debut performer. The season closed with the U.S. premiere of a multimedia composition Dos Visiones, a unique collaboration between the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, the Museum of Latin American Art, the Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional de México and the American Composers Forum. In the 2012-2013 season Maestro Diemecke will conduct all six Classics concerts and four Symphony Concerts for Young People.