Concerts
Watch & Listen
to your favorite WVS performances from this season and past seasons on our YouTube channel.
Special thanks to 9th Symphony Productions for the great recordings!
2024-2025 Season Concerts
With Maestro Kellogg's retirement in 2024, we formed a Music Director Search Committee. As a result of their hard work, we were thrilled to share these Guest Conductors and their repertoire for this season.
Each candidate conducted one concert, and Associate Conductor Nicholas Ross conducted December's Holiday concert as well as our final concert of the 2024-2025 season. ​
April 6, 2025
NOSTALGIA: CONNECTING WITH OUR PAST AND FUTURE
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Alex Amsel will be unable to conduct the orchestra for this program. Associate Conductor Nicholas Ross will lead us on a musical journey to discover what 21st Century, Argentinian composer Benzecry’s Obertura Tanguera has in common with Brahms’ 19th Century Symphony No. 1 and Wagner's Tristan und Isolde Prelude and Liebestod. Explore how nostalgia in music pays homage to the past and propels us forward into a better future.
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Concert Sponsor: Dr. Anne Levig
March 2, 2025
FOLK MUSIC OF THE AMERICAS
Guest Conductor Michael Stanley illustrates ways in which folk music has influenced classical composers, the basis for some of their most popular works. Inspired by American folk music, Copland wrote Appalachian Spring; Márquez drew from the dance music of Mexico in Danzon No. 2. DvoÅ™ák took inspiration from spirituals and Native American music for his New World Symphony.
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Concert Sponsor: Eugene Neigoff in Honor of Judith Neigoff’s Birthday
Be sure to watch his video below.
February 16, 2025
THE BARBARIAN ARTIST
Guest Conductor Daniel Wiley delves into the minds of composers expressing their humanity and leading us through tales of love gone awry with Coleridge-Taylor's Petite Suite de Concert and Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet. Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, expresses the political adversity of a composer deemed a “barbarian artist” by the Soviet regime and at risk of political exile.
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​Concert Sponsor: Jan Truelsen
Be sure to watch his video below.
January 12, 2025
UNITY: A MUSICAL JOURNEY
Guest Conductor Kayoko Dan takes us on a compelling musical journey with Coleman's Umoja: Anthem of Unity, a vibrant celebration of togetherness. Theofanidis's Rainbow Body transports listeners through ethereal textures and spiritual motifs, leading to a finale of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, a monumental work of intense emotional landscapes.
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​Concert Sponsor: Sandra Staehle
Be sure to watch her video below.
December 8, 2024
SOUNDS OF THE SEASON
Associate Conductor Nicholas Ross gets us into the spirit of the season with a side-by-side with the West Valley Youth Orchestra, Claire Gordon, Conductor. Enjoy traditional favorites such as Tyzik's arrangement of Behold the Lights and selections by Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, and Vaughn-Williams among others. Get your tickets early for this always sold-out concert!
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Concert Sponsors: Carter and Kay Marsden
Guest Artist Sponsor: Jan Truelsen
November 10, 2024
LYRICAL TRANSFORMATIONS
Guest Conductor, Janna Hymes opened the season showcasing the masterful musicians of the WVS and carried away the audience by Enescu's folk music-based Romanian Rhapsody, Debussy's lush and melodic Petite Suite in the French style, followed by Schumann's Symphony No. 2, one of the greatest German symphonies ever composed!
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Concert Sponsors: Judy and Ken Stowell
Be sure to watch her video below.