Founded in 1998, the Sonoma County Philharmonic is a full size symphonic orchestra conceived from and supported by the communities of Sonoma County. Created by a group of musicians dedicated to reinventing the American symphony orchestra on sustainable democratic principles, we have grown from our modest beginnings as the Cotati Philharmonic, to become the premier professional volunteer orchestra in the North Bay Area.
Since that time, we have given sixty-eight concert events for over 35,000 audience members in service of our mission: to make the beauty of music and the power of community alive and available for everyone. This has been accomplished on an all-volunteer basis by the orchestra of 60-75 professional volunteer musicians and scores of dedicated and passionate non-musical volunteers from around Sonoma County and the North Bay area. Unlike other similarly sized and seasoned orchestras throughout the United States, our events are decidedly inclusive of people of every walk of life and provide great programming that people can understand and relate to.
We exist because of our commitment to bring the great music of our cultural heritage to those who either can’t afford to attend regular concerts or who wouldn’t attend because they might feel excluded or uncomfortable in the conventional setting of a symphony concert. In addition to experienced music lovers, we serve thousands of children, seniors, high school and college students, and parents who bring their whole families to enjoy great music together at consistently “sold out” concerts.
Many music professionals and lay members of the audience have favorably compared their concert experiences with us to the Santa Rosa Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony. The orchestra has debuted several new works and has featured soloists from among Sonoma County’s leading performing artists.
In October of 2007 the Orchestra was voted top in the Classical Music Category by the readers of the Bohemian newspaper in the Annual North Bay Classical Music Awards.
Each season the Sonoma County Philharmonic does a stretch, meaning they take on one composition that makes inordinate demands on their nonprofessional orchestra. That happened in the two concert April set in the Jackson Theater when Conductor Norman Gamboa programed Mahler’s monumental Fifth Sympho...
Norman Gamboa, conductor. Daniel Gianola-Norris, trumpet
"The Fates." Tchaikovsky: symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36; Robert Litton: Royal Oaks for Trumpet and Orchestra; Brian Lloyd Piano Competition Concerto (TBA), winning artist TBA (San Francisco Conser...
Norman Gamboa, conductor. Chloe Tula, harp
"Spanish Flair." Massenet: Suite from the Ballet "Le Cid"; Rodrigo: Concerto de Aranjuez; Turina: Sinfonia Sevillana
The program repeats Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. in the Jackson Theater. Tickets are...
Norman Gamboa, conductor. Morgan Harrington, soprano; Courtney Miller, mezzo-soprano; Chad Somers, t
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9; Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4
The concert repeats April 13 at 2 p.m. in the Jackson Theater. Tickets are $20 and students under 21 are free...
