About | History of | Music of
Jorge Mester urrently celebrating its 73nd season, The Pasadena Symphony hasbeen lauded as one of Southern California's cultural treasures. Diverseprogramming, musical excellence, exceptional artistic leadership anddeep community support are among the hallmarks which have made it a majorsuccess among its peers.
Success can also be attributed, in great part, to its stablemusical leadership. During the Symphony's lengthy history, it has been led byjust four music directors.
Founded in 1928 just prior to the Great Depression by conductorReginald Bland, the orchestra flourished from the beginning. Eightyears later, in 1936, German Composer Richard Lert was appointed musicdirector. During his 36-year tenure, he distinguished himself as one of the mostimportant conducting teachers in America.
It was not until the early 1970s, however, that the orchestrawould become fully professional under the tutelage of celebrated ConductorDaniel Lewis. With his guidance, The Pasadena Symphony won enormous criticalacclaim and five ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors andPublishers) awards for adventuresome programming. Under Jorge Mester,who was named music director in 1984, the orchestra hasreached a new level of excellence and has distinguished itself by performing newand rarely performed works along with the standard orchestra repertoire.
In addition to The Pasadena Symphony's annual concert series atthe Pasadena Civic Auditorium, the orchestra produces an array ofeducational programs, including classroom concerts; mentoring programs; theadmission-free Musical Circus, which introduces children to classicalinstruments; free or discounted tickets for students; and a low costticket policy for children. It also sponsors the Pasadena Youth SymphonyOrchestra.
The Pasadena Symphony has made two recordings with Jorge Mesterfor the AUracle label. Recordings are available for purchase through the Symphony office at (626) 793-7172 ext. 10.
