California Symphony opens 40th season with Higdon cello concerto

The California Symphony will launch its landmark 40th anniversary concert season at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek with "American Connections," a dynamic program celebrating major symphonic masterworks that received their historic world premieres across the United States. Taking the stage inside the Hofmann Theatre on Friday, September 26 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, September 27 at 4:00 PM, the regional orchestra will welcome classical patrons from across Contra Costa County for a weekend of groundbreaking performances. Long recognized for adventurous programming and community engagement, the regional symphony anchors the thriving cultural arts district of downtown Walnut Creek.

The milestone season opening brings substantial cultural and economic vitality to central Contra Costa County, drawing thousands of arts patrons, student musicians, and visiting families into downtown dining and hospitality districts. Local arts leaders emphasized that the symphony's longstanding presence at the municipal theater complex enriches community life while supporting local businesses along Locust Street, North Main Street, and Olympic Boulevard. Through subsidized student ticket initiatives, open rehearsals, and youth education programs, the orchestra continues expanding classical music access to diverse audiences across the East Bay.

Founded in 1986 to provide professional orchestral performances in the East Bay suburbs, the California Symphony maintains a close municipal partnership with the City of Walnut Creek and the Lesher Center administration. Guided by Music Director Donato Cabrera and a civic board of trustees, the ensemble has garnered national acclaim for championing living American composers and advancing equity in concert repertoire. The opening program honors the upcoming 250th anniversary of the nation by highlighting historic masterworks composed or premiered on American soil over the past century.

The concert program features the Northern California premiere of a newly commissioned Cello Concerto by Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, featuring internationally celebrated guest soloist Julian Schwarz. Higdon composed the virtuosic piece specifically for Schwarz following a prestigious commission by his father, conductor Gerard Schwarz, who leads the Frost Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Cabrera paired the contemporary concerto with Jean Sibelius's 1914 ocean-inspired tone poem "The Oceanides" and Béla Bartók's celebrated 1943 Concerto for Orchestra, both of which debuted in America.

Orchestra leadership also welcomed 28-year-old composer and flutist Paul Novak as the symphony's incoming composer-in-residence under a prestigious three-year fellowship where he will compose an original work each season and lead local school masterclasses. Concert tickets for the opening weekend performances range from $50 to $110, with reservations available through the Lesher Center for the Arts box office at 1601 Civic Drive or by calling ticket agents at (925) 943-7469. Patron services staff recommend reserving seats early, as downtown parking garages along Civic Drive fill quickly prior to evening curtains.