South Coast Symphony

MISSION STATEMENT: Founded in 1996, The South Coast Symphony, The Unstuffy Symphony, is a resident orchestra for South Orange County. The 70 member Symphony services South Orange County’s fifteen diverse communities with a professional, accessible and affordable symphonic musical experience. The Symphony’s eclectic programming is designed to entertain and educate while also attracting a whole new generation of patrons. The Symphony performs a wide variety of orchestral literature from the Classics and Opera to Light Classics, Broadway and Pops. The Symphony’s educational outreach programs, Koncerts for Kids and Young STARS of the Future are an integral part of our mission to provide cultural opportunities and experiences for our youth.Each season, for the past twenty five years, the Symphony’s educational outreach program, Koncerts for Kids, performs for over 3,000 fourth and fifth grade students and their teachers from throughout central and south Orange County. To date the Symphony has performed for over 70,000 students.

Founded in 1996, The South Coast Symphony, The Unstuffy Symphony, is a resident orchestra for South Orange County. The 70 member Symphony’s mission is to provide South Orange County’s fifteen diverse communities with a professional, accessible and affordable symphonic musical experience. The Symphony’s eclectic programming is designed to entertain and educate while also attracting a whole new generation of patrons. The Symphony performs a wide variety of orchestral literature from the Classics and Opera to Light Classics, Broadway and Pops. Ticket prices are reasonable, with free parking at all venues. The South Coast Symphony Alliance and Junior Alliance, our support groups, include over 50 members who are instrumental in providing numerous volunteer and support services.The Symphony performs at Coast Hills Auditorium and other local venues in centrally located Aliso Viejo. For the past 26 years, South Coast Symphony’s Koncerts for Kids has performed for over 75,000 students and their teachers from cities and communities throughout south Orange County. These LIVE symphonic concerts are held annually during the school day. Students and teachers are bused to and from their schools to the concerts completely free of charge!  Koncerts for Kids is a specifically designed multi-media program for fourth and fifth graders performed by a large symphony orchestra. They experience a variety of music, professionally narrated, from various genres including classical, jazz, opera, the film scores from Hollywood and the music of Broadway. One of the reasons this program is such a success is because of the assistance of our partners, the Symphony Alliance and staff from the Capistrano Unified School District.Young STARS of the Future is the premiere county-wide Performance Competition & Concert. The goal is to foster new, young talent residing or studying in Orange County, California. Winners of the Young STARS of the Future auditions are selected by a Jury of distinguished musicians. The criteria are exceptional talent, virtuosity, artistic individuality, projection as a performer, and promise. The musicians compete against a standard of excellence - not each other. Past winners are now performing on Broadway, in National Touring Companies, as classical artists, and attending major music universities like Julliard, the Manhattan School of Music, the Colburn School, and the USC Thornton School of Music.

The South Coast Symphony’s eclectic programming is designed to entertain and educate while also attracting a whole new generation of patrons. Through our educational outreach program, Koncerts for Kids, the symphony has performed to over 75,000 elementary school students over the last 27 years, providing many children with their first concert experience. The symphony has also sponsored a county-wide competition for young, gifted musicians, assisting many with their careers. To date the Symphony has featured 70 competition winners and have awarded over $80,000 in cash prizes. In addition, each winner has the honor of performing in front of a full concert hall as a soloist with the symphony. Many of our award winners have gone on to professional careers in music, Broadway, and beyond. As Orange County’s “unstuffy” symphony, we offer an enjoyable yet affordable and comfortable concert experience for everyone!

We are requesting funding for a program (“Koncert for Kids”) that targets both fourth and fifth grade throughout south and central Orange County. The demographics of both school districts have changed in the past several years; they are much more culturally diverse with approximately 25% of the students being non-white. An increasing number of students come from families who earn at or below the county’s median income. Approximately 16% of the students in CUSD participate in the “Free & Reduced Cost” school lunch program. The reality for most of these families is that there are little to no resources for exposure to, or involvement in, any kind of music or dramatic arts programs. This reality, coupled with the growing number of schools who have cut their music and art education budgets, means that thousands of students have no access to music or art of any kind. We also service several private schools in South Orange County, CA. More and more studies are recognizing the connection between education and the arts and the positive impact the arts have on a child’s development of cognitive thinking and learning skills.  

All of Orange County, California

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