(Santa Rosa, Calif.) — Santa Rosa Symphony has received generous support from Willow Creek Wealth Management for the Symphony's "It's Elementary" program, which provides vital access to free music education to Sonoma County elementary schools, some of which have been federally-designated as underserved. In addition, the Sebastopol-based financial planning and investment firm and long-time supporter of the Symphony, has funded free tickets for It's Elementary school students and their families to attend the Santa Rosa Symphony Family Concerts "Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery" on January 27 and "The Composer is Dead" on April 7 at Weill Hall, Green Music Center.
Supporting Music Education
"We believe strongly that the combination of education and music provides immense value to young students through enhanced focus, engagement, creativity, and discipline that will permeate through their entire lives," said Timothy Admire, a partner at Willow Creek Wealth Management in Sebastopol. "Based on this belief, we are extremely excited to expand the benefit of music education within our community by supporting the Santa Rosa Symphony’s It’s Elementary program, offering more students and families complimentary access to high-caliber performances at Weill Hall." The Symphony's It's Elementary program, which serves six Sonoma County elementary schools at a time for a two-year term, includes the following features:
- Elementary School Listening Program which provides classical music CDs of five-minute selections for playing over the school's PA and for in-classroom listening
- Four in-school Santa Rosa Symphony ensemble performances, introducing students to orchestral instruments by section (string, woodwind, brass and percussion)
- One in-school performance by a SRS Youth Orchestra
- Youth Discovery Cards – each student at participating schools receives a season pass for SRS Dress Rehearsals at Weill Hall, Green Music Center
- One Free SRS concert at Weill Hall as a field trip during school hours
- Free recorders and curriculum for students to play with the orchestra from their seats at the Green Music Center
- Curriculum support and professional development for teachers and participating schools, which include lesson plans and after-school workshops
"The Symphony relies heavily on community support, including generous corporate donations like this, to keep the Symphony's music education programs available to Sonoma County elementary students. We are very grateful to Willow Creek Wealth Management for its support, not just of 'It's Elementary,' but also of the Family Series, making these Family concerts available to more families," said Santa Rosa Symphony President and CEO Alan Silow.
About the Santa Rosa Symphony
Santa Rosa Symphony, the Resident Orchestra of the Green Music Center, is the third-oldest professional orchestra in California, and the largest regional symphony north of Los Angeles. Francesco Lecce-Chong, the Symphony's fifth music director in its 91 years, begins his tenure this season. The Santa Rosa Symphony (SRS) is committed to core values of artistic excellence, innovative programming, comprehensive music education and community service. This year the SRS infused the local economy with more than $4 million. Currently in its 91st season, the Symphony’s performance schedule includes 21 Classical Series concerts (7 sets), 7 Discovery Dress Rehearsal concerts, a 3-concert Family Series and a 4-concert Pops Series, as well as special concerts. The Symphony is also recognized for having one of the most comprehensive music education programs in California, serving nearly 30,000 youths annually. Collaborations with schools and organizations across Sonoma County have gained SRS national attention and support. Awards include an American Symphony Orchestra League MetLife Award for Community Engagement and a first place award for adventurous programming in the 2012-2013 season from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).
About Willow Creek Wealth Management
Willow Creek Wealth Management, located in Sebastopol, is a fee-only, independent advisory firm serving over 600 families. With offices in Sebastopol and Marin County, the firm provides a range of wealth management services including investment management, retirement planning, tax and financial planning as well as strategic philanthropic consulting.
About the Santa Rosa Symphony Family Series concerts
The Santa Rosa Symphony 7th Family Concert Season, comprising three Sunday afternoon, interactive orchestral concerts geared to small children and families filled with fun, mystery and magic continues at Weill Hall, Green Music Center on January 27 and April 7, 2019. For "Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery," on January 27, at 3 PM, Classical Kids LIVE! provides engaging antics for children as they learn about 18th-century Venice, while they follow a young orphan violinist as she searches for her true identity and a missing Stradivarius violin. Along the way, audience members will gain an understanding and appreciation for Antonio Vivaldi, his music and the orchestra's instruments. The program, conducted by Bobby Rogers and ideal for sharing with young children, includes excerpts from Vivaldi's famous works, including his Four Seasons, the Violin Concerto in A minor and the Guitar Concerto. On Sunday, April 7, "The Composer is Dead" will be conducted by new SRS Music Director Francesco Lecce-Chong. All the suspects are musical instruments, and they all seem to have a motive – and an alibi. So who killed the composer? This murder mystery was commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony and composed by one of its Youth Orchestra alumns, Nathaniel Stookey. The narration for the piece (and the corresponding children's book) was written by the popular children's author Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events). For more information about the program and their collaboration, see this YouTube video. The Symphony provides a complimentary Instrument Petting Zoo in the lobby beginning one hour prior to the performances. Tickets are $18/adult; $12/youth (12 and younger) and may be purchased at srsymphony.org or by calling (707) 54-MUSIC. All patrons, regardless of age, must have a ticket.