On December 15, 1968 in the Town Hall South auditorium, now called Mountain View Auditorium, in Sun City, residents  gathered for the first performance of the brand new Sun City Symphony Orchestra.  Nearly 1000 patrons, a capacity crowd, enjoyed the performance under its founder and conductor, Jennings Butterfield.  The performance consisted of musicians from the Sun City Community, which was then just eight years old, along with professional musicians from the Luke Air Force Base band, the Flagstaff Symphony and the Phoenix Symphony.   The 2008-09 Season marks the 40 year anniversary of this cultural treasure.

Founder Jennings Butterfield passed away in 1982 and his wife, Lillian, in 1990.  But the legacy they helped to create lives on in the music we hear today.  Maestro Butterfield was succeeded by Dr. Bernard Goodman for one season, followed by Dr. Eugene P. Lombardi, who conducted the orchestra from 1983 to 1987.  Maestro James Yestadt took the baton in 1988 and directed the talents of the professional musicians from around the Valley and the retired professionals from the Sun Cities until 2006. Under the direction of Maestro Yestadt, in 2002 the West Valley Symphony received WESTMARC’s “Best of the West” award.

Over the years, the orchestra changed its name and performance locations.  First the name was changed to the Sun Cities Symphony, to include Sun City West.  In 1997 the name was changed to the Symphony of the West Valley to reflect a growing commitment to serve the growing Northwest Valley and finally in 2004 to the West Valley Symphony.  The symphony performances moved from the original location of Town Hall auditorium to the Sundial Auditorium when it opened in the 1970’s and to the Sundome (Maricopa County Events Center) in Sun City West in 1980.  In 2005 the Sundome was temporarily closed and the Symphony held its 2005-06 season classical performances at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Sun City West.

A sampling of the internationally acclaimed artists who have appeared with the Symphony includes:  pianists Fabio Bidini, Jeffrey Swann, Lilya Zilberstein and Jean-Phillipe Collard; violinists Elmar Oliveira, Corey Cerovsek, Stephanie Chase, Xiang Gao and Eugene Fodor; cellist Zuill Bailey; classical guitarists The Romeros and Mannuel Barrueco; flutist Eugenia Zukerman; singers Isola Jones, Julie Newell and Andrea Matthews.  Entertainers such as Steve Allen, The Smothers Brothers, Bobby Vinton, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Monica Mancini and Lou Rawls have also appeared with the Symphony.

In February 2006, after several years of declining revenue from ticket sales and overall contributions, the symphony cancelled the two remaining Classical concerts of the 2005-06 Season.   The announcement was met with great sadness on the part of the patrons, volunteers and musicians that had devoted their energy and talents to the organization.  The Trustees set about trying to keep the organization’s framework intact with the hope that future circumstances might make the orchestra’s performances possible again.

In December 2007, the Symphony announced a generous bequest from Mr. J. E. Donald Hastie of Sun City.  With this funding, the Symphony’s trustees began plans to “re-invent” the orchestra and begin performing live music again.  After a two year hiatus, two concerts were performed in February and April 2008.  The concerts were conducted by Maestro Warren Cohen of Scottsdale and were greeted with an enthusiastic audience.  With the support of individuals and businesses in the community, the Symphony hopes to continue performing well into the future.