October 8, 2024 — Long Beach Symphony is pleased to announce that it has been selected as one of 35 Los Angeles organizations to receive a multi-year General Operating Support Grant from the Perenchio Foundation. The $1.8 million gift is the largest ever received in its 90-year history.

“This grant acknowledges the work the Symphony has been doing for the past 90 years to provide world-class music and award-winning music education programs for our community. This funding comes at a critical time to ensure our long-term sustainability as arts organizations are still struggling to rebuild in a post-pandemic world,” said Cindy Costello, Chairman of the Long Beach Symphony Board of Directors.

The Perenchio Foundation is a private foundation established by the late A. Jerrold “Jerry” Perenchio. The Perenchio Foundation believes that arts play an essential role in building more equitable, culturally vibrant, and inclusive communities, and is guided by a commitment to create a positive, lasting impact in the Los Angeles region through the arts. Learn more at www.perenchiofoundation.org.

Long Beach Symphony President Kelly Ruggirello, with Chairman of the Board Cindy Costello, announces the Perenchio Foundation grant award at the 90th Anniversary Season Celebration on 10/5/2024 at the Terrace Theater.

“Stable, multi-year funding is rare in the arts, yet it is essential for organizations to plan confidently, build capacity, and continue creating excellent work that meets the needs of their communities,” said Perenchio Foundation Chief Executive Officer Stephania Ramirez. “By offering this kind of support, we aim to help our grantees flourish while highlighting the need for more long-term investments across the sector.” 

“Great cities deserve great orchestras,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “On behalf of the City of Long Beach, we congratulate our outstanding Long Beach Symphony for receiving this prestigious, transformative gift by the Perenchio Foundation. Your dedication to enriching our community through music is truly inspiring.” 

“We are deeply grateful to the Perenchio Foundation for recognizing the pivotal role we play in our community, our commitment to excellence, the significant impact of our programs, our steady leadership, and the strength of our operational strategy,” states Kelly Ruggirello, President of the Long Beach Symphony. “The most recent multi-year commitments by The Perenchio Foundation, the RuMBa Foundation of Long Beach, and Linda L. Gunn Music Education Fund attest to their belief in the Symphony’s vision to inspire and unite all people through the transformative power of music.” 

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About Long Beach Symphony

The premier producer of live music in the greater Long Beach region and one of Southern California’s most renowned professional regional orchestras, Long Beach Symphony’s vision is to unite all people through the transformative power of music by engaging audiences of all ages and cultures through exceptional orchestral performances, community partnerships and meaningful educational experiences. In its 90th season, Long Beach Symphony is led by Music Director Eckart Preu and serves 70,000 community members annually through its robust concert and education activities. Five Classical concerts at the Terrace Theater are filled with dancing fountains, fire pits, and the ability to sip and enjoy while experiencing classical and newer works. The Pops Series at the Long Beach Arena encourages audiences to bring their picnics and libations and enjoy indoor parties while dancing to the music by renowned artists and the power of a professional symphony orchestra.

The RuMBa Foundation Family Concerts serve 6,000 families where all children attend for free. In addition to ensembles in the schools for 15,000 2nd and 3rd graders, youth concerts for 4th and 5th graders bring 12,000 children annually to the Terrace Theater; totaling nearly 1 million students since the program’s inception.

Located in one of the most diverse cities in the nation, the Symphony’s award-winning Musical Bridges program celebrates the musical artistry of the many diverse communities through free, collaborative multicultural performances. Long Beach Symphony was awarded the Long Beach Heritage Preservation Award in 2012, the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce Award for Outstanding Nonprofit Organization, and the City of Long Beach in 2015 and in 2017 honored by the Arts Council for Long Beach and the Long Beach NAACP for its commitment and dedication to fighting for civil rights and social justice. In 2023, The Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO) honored Long Beach Symphony as the recipient of its 2023 Social Impact Award, given to an organizational member that has created positive change or addressed a challenge or injustice in its community.

For more information, visit https://longbeachsymphony.org.

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For media inquiries, interviews, or additional information, please contact Sue Moylan, at [email protected].

Long Beach, CA – August 20, 2024 – Long Beach Symphony, renowned for its 90 years of providing exceptional Classical, Pops, Youth, and Family concerts, proudly announces that Linda L. Gunn, philanthropist and business owner of Gunn Jerkens, a full-service marketing communications agency in Long Beach, will fund the annual Youth Concerts through the 2027 season. This generous support, made possible by the Linda L. Gunn Music Education Fund, ensures the continuation of a beloved tradition that has been bringing music to young students for over four decades.

(L-R) Long Beach Symphony President Kelly Ruggirello, Philanthropist Linda L. Gunn, Chairman of the Long Beach Symphony Board of Directors Cindy Costello, and Long Beach Unified School District Board President Diana Craighead at the August 19, 2024 announcement.

The Long Beach Symphony Youth Concerts, which have been a staple in the community for more than 40 years, provide an invaluable opportunity for approximately 12,000 fourth- and fifth-grade students from the Long Beach Unified School District to experience live orchestral performances at the Long Beach Terrace Theater each year. Long Beach Symphony musicians are joined on stage by the 100-member All-District High School Honor Orchestra or Choir who gain unsurpassed training and professional peer coaching. Since its inception, the Youth Concerts program has reached nearly 1 million children for which the Symphony has been actively seeking funding since 2022 to sustain this vital initiative.

Cindy Costello, Chairman of the Long Beach Symphony Board of Directors, expressed her gratitude: “The Symphony is extremely grateful to Linda Gunn for her shared vision and commitment to music education. Her generous 3-year gift ensures that the Symphony will continue providing this important music program for our schools and our community.”

Linda Gunn shared her enthusiasm for the program: “As a passionate supporter of our city’s educational and music institutions, I felt compelled to step up when I learned about this vital program’s funding dilemma. I wanted to support bringing young children to hear a world-class orchestra, which also invites high school music students from across the city to perform side-by-side with some of the finest musicians in Southern California.”

“As a pillar of our music education department and a key recruitment initiative for Long Beach Unified School District’s robust music program, Linda Gunn is our collective hero. Because of her generosity, 36,000 Long Beach children will continue to be inspired and educated over the next three years.” stated Kelly Ruggirello, President of Long Beach Symphony.

Long Beach Symphony looks forward to continuing its impactful work in the community, thanks to the remarkable generosity of Linda L. Gunn. The Youth Concerts will thrive as a cornerstone of the Symphony’s mission to foster a love of music and provide enriching experiences for young audiences.

For more information about the Long Beach Symphony and its programs, please visit www.longbeachsymphony.org. Media Contact: Sue Moylan, [email protected]

LONG BEACH, CA, June 21, 2023 – Long Beach Symphony, under the direction of Maestro Eckart Preu, announces its 2023-2024 Classical and Pops seasons.

CLASSICAL SERIES LINE UP
A Fun & Elegant Evening. Sip & Enjoy.
8pm: Terrace Theater (7pm Pre-Talk)
Opening Night with Andreas Boyde(10/21/23)
Bernstein, Hindustani Violin Concerto, Long Beach Ballet (11/18/23)
Pictures at an Exhibition (Ravel) (2/17/24)
Brahms Requiem (3/9/24)
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 (6/1/24)

POPS SERIES LINE UP
Indoor Picnicking & Dancing
8pm: Long Beach Arena
A Beatles Celebration by Classical Mystery Tour (10/28/23)
Holiday Swing with Byron Stripling (12/9/23)
Windborne’s Music of the Rolling Stones (2/3/24)
The Music of Fleetwood Mac (3/23/24)
Disco Fever Dance Party (5/4/24)

* All Classical concerts and Beatles Celebration are conducted by Maestro Eckart Preu. Programs, dates, and artists are subject to change. Concert details found below.

The CLASSICAL Season opener on October 21, 2023 features the beautiful The Moldau by Smetana and Andreas Boyde, sharing his virtuosity in Dvorak’s Piano Concerto. On November 18, 2023, Kala Ramnath performs the Hindustani Violin Concerto written for her by Indian American composer Reena Esmail in a program also presenting Long Beach Ballet in Bernstein’s Fancy Free. Pictures at an Exhibition takes center stage on February 17, 2024 as audiences also enjoy Long Beach Symphony Principal Cello, Cécilia Tsan performing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto. The Long Beach Camerata Singers provide the vocal forces in the powerful Brahms Requiem and the gorgeous Serenade to Music by Vaughan Williams on March 9, 2024. The season culminates on June 1, 2024 spotlighting the brilliant pianist Awadagin Pratt in one of the most famous works of all time, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 to provide the perfect ending to a great season of music.

Music Director Eckart Preu adds,
“Our Classical Season has something for everyone! Sip, relax and enjoy a beverage while hearing the great masterworks by Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Mussorgsky, as well as rarely heard works by Florence Price, Guillaume Conneson and Reena Esmail.”

Audiences love the unique Long Beach Symphony Pops experience as they enjoy indoor picnicking while singing and dancing the night away inside the Long Beach Arena’s Pacific Ballroom. Opening on October 28, 2023 with A Beatles Celebration, four musicians from the Classical Mystery Tour celebrate Beatlemania and the 60th Anniversary of the first Beatles U.S. tour. A powerhouse trumpeter with a soulful voice, conductor Byron Stripling will entertain with his infectious yuletide joy and blazing virtuosity in seasonal tunes for Holiday Swing on December 9, 2023. The Music of the Rolling Stones by Windborne on February 3, 2024 features a full rock band and Long Beach Symphony delivering timeless hit songs like “Satisfaction”, “Ruby Tuesday”, “Honky Tonk Woman”, “Angie” and many more! A night devoted to the best of Fleetwood Mac on March 23, 2024 will have audiences singing along to “Go Your Own Way”, “Rhiannon”, “Dreams”, “The Chain”, and – of course – “Landslide.” The Pops season concludes on May 4, 2024 with a Disco Fever Dance Party as thousands dance the night away in their boogie shoes to this 70’s extravaganza featuring Classical Night Fever as “The Ultimate Disco Party Band”.

All programs, dates and artists are subject to change. For more information or to purchase subscriptions visit www.LongBeachSymphony.org or call 562-436-3203.

ABOUT LONG BEACH SYMPHONY
Featuring Southern California’s finest orchestra musicians, Long Beach Symphony marks its 89th season and seventh season of its Music Director, Eckart Preu.
The Symphony presents more than 100 concerts and events a year and a rich array of education and community engagement programs that reach more than 70,000 residents from school children to senior citizens. Core to its offerings is a five-concert Classical series performed at the Long Beach Terrace Theater as well as a five-concert Pops series in the Long Beach Arena’s Pacific Ballroom.
The Symphony has received international stature through its dedication to presenting both classical masterworks and contemporary as well as multicultural work through unique collaborations. The Symphony presented its first premiere in 1939 and since then has commissioned and/or premiered 25 works.
Long Beach Symphony won the 1998 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and produced two recordings entitled Impressions of the Sea (1998) and Pictures (2000). Committed to supporting arts and culture in the region, it regularly produces artistic collaborations with local organizations such as Long Beach Camerata Singers, Long Beach Ballet, California State University Long Beach, Museum of Latin and American Art, and Aquarium of the Pacific. Long Beach Symphony was awarded the Long Beach Heritage Preservation Award in 2012, the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce Award for Outstanding Nonprofit Organization in 2015 and in 2017 honored by the Long Beach NAACP. For more information and to subscribe, please visit www.LongBeachSymphony.org.

Long Beach Symphony 2023-2024 Classical Season Details
All concerts in the Long Beach Terrace Theater at 8:00PM. Doors open at 6:30 for 7:00PM Pre-Concert Talks with Maestro Eckart Preu and guest artists. All concerts conducted by Music Director Eckart Preu. Patrons can enjoy sipping on their beverages during the concert.

October 21, 2023 OPENING NIGHT WITH ANDREAS BOYDE
Andreas Boyde, piano
Brahms –Hungarian Dances
Dvořák –Piano Concerto
Smetana –from My Fatherland: The Moldau, Sárka, From Bohemia’s Woods & Fields
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November 18, 2023 BERNSTEIN
Kala Ramnath, violinist
Long Beach Ballet, dancers
Stravinsky –Pulcinella Suite
Reena Esmail –Hindustani Violin Concerto
Joplin –Treemonisha Overture
Bernstein –Fancy Free
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February 17, 2024 PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION
Cécilia Tsan, cello
Florence Price –Concert Overture No. 2
Dvořák –Cello Concerto
Mussorgsky (Ravel) –Pictures at an Exhibition
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March 9, 2024 BRAHMS REQUIEM
Long Beach Camerata Singers, chorus
Kevin Deas, baritone and Elissa Johnston, soprano
Connesson –Cosmic Trilogy
Vaughan Williams –Serenade to Music
Brahms –Requiem
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June 1, 2024 TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1
Awadagin Pratt, piano
Bruckner –Symphony No. 4 “Romantic”
Tchaikovsky –Piano Concerto No. 1

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Long Beach Symphony 2023-2024 Pops Season Details
All concerts at Long Beach Arena, Pacific Ballroom. Doors open at 6:30 PM for indoor picnicking; concerts begin at 8:00 PM. Outside Food and Drinks encouraged. All programs are subject to change.

October 28, 2023 A BEATLES CELEBRATION BY CLASSICAL MYSTERY TOUR
Eckart Preu, Conductor

December 9, 2023 HOLIDAY SWING
Byron Stripling, Conductor

February 3, 2024 WINDBORNE’S MUSIC OF THE ROLLING STONES
Brent Havens, Conductor

March 23, 2024 THE MUSIC OF FLEETWOOD MAC
Mark Alpizar, Conductor

May 4, 2024 A DISCO FEVER DANCE PARTY
Roger Kalia, Conductor

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