What better way to open Symphony San Jose’s season than with the trumpet? Renowned on six continents, Norwegian soloist Tine Thing Helseth performs Tomasi’s formidable Trumpet Concerto with her signature lyricism and warmth. The concert opens with Rimsky-Korsakov’s blazing Russian Easter Overture and is capped by Schumann’s sunny Symphony No. 3, ending in triumphant fanfares for brass.
Program:
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Russian Easter Overture
- Maurice Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin
- Henri Tomasi: Trumpet Concerto
- Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3 Rhenish
Performances:
- Sat., October 1, 2022 @ 8pm
- Sun., October 2, 2022 @ 2:30pm
NOTE: Please check Symphony San Jose’s website for their current Covid-19 policies and requirements.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
Nurse Blake is a one-of-a-kind entertainer who uses his experience as a nurse for a fun-filled comedy event that celebrates the hard work of healthcare providers.
Blake tells candid and raw stories from his time in nursing school and from his shifts at the bedside. His upbeat attitude and hilarious spins on the obstacles nurses face day to day offer a fun and interactive experience for audience members. Blake’s comedy stands apart by using humor to advocate for nurses.
By using masterful storytelling to captivate audiences, he provides an unforgettable night of laughs and inspiration. He is the ultimate solo performer — using visuals, crowd participation and live sketches that have audiences engaged and laughing from start to finish.
Please Note: Per state guidelines, face masks are strongly recommended indoors for all attendees, except when actively eating or drinking.
For more info, please see our Health and Safety Policy.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
sjDANCEco’s 20TH Anniversary Season is a presentation of new works, Company Premieres and Encore Performances. There are 4 Guest Choreographers; 3 Choreographers – Nhan Ho, Dominic Duong and Gabriel Mata are sjDANCEco alums, each having worked with the company for a number of years. Co-Artistic Director Maria Basile will perform a contemporary solo created by Fred Strickler, an LA Tap Legend. Fred Mathews, Choreographic Advisor, revives his 1977 work “Lunaris”, originally commissioned by Contemporary Dancers/Winnipeg. Artistic Directors Maria Basile and Gary Masters present audience favorites”Path Reset” and “Between Yesterday and Tomorrow” respectively. For the 13th year, these performances are presented with the San José Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Maestra Barbara Day Turner.
Biographies
Maria Basile is the 2010 recipient of Arts Council Silicon Valley Artist Fellowship for Performance, received the 2009 Individual Artist Special Recognition award for her choreographic contributions in Santa Clara County and was a 2009 “Isadora Duncan Award” nominee for Best Performance in ‘Birthing the Ascension’ which was hailed by Rita Felciano as “one of her finest achievements… exquisitely designed dance… (that) eloquently spoke of permanence within change.” In 2014, Bay Area Dance Watch awarded Basile the LiveBlessay Award for Best Dancer/Actress. She is a founding member and Co-Artistic Director for sjDANCEco. She has choreographed for the Cabrillo Music Festival, Opera San José, Midsummer Mozart Festival, Enacte, De Anza College and San José State University. Performing highlights of Ms. Basile’s career have been as a charter member of The Limón West Dance Project of San José, CA and as part of The Limón Dance Company’s critically acclaimed 50th Anniversary World Tour.
Fred Mathews, Choreographic Advisor, is a graduate from Stephens College, where he worked under the tutelage of Harriette Ann Gray, former Humphrey-Weidman dancer, subsequently becoming her protégé. He was a soloist with the internationally recognized José Limón Dance Company, where he became known for his dramatic portrayals. His first major work, “Solaris”, was premiered by the company in 1975, followed by “Lunaris”, for Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers. Other choreographies are in the repertories of companies in the U.S. and Canada as well as sjDANCEco. In 1979, he and former Limón dancer, Gary Masters, formed the Mathews-Masters Dance Company in New York City, performing throughout the United States and in Europe. A renowned teacher at New York University, Harvard University, Sarah Lawrence College and others, he is Professor Emeritus from San José State where he was Director of the Dance Program for fifteen years.
Gary Masters, Founder and Artistic Director for sjDANCEco, is the 2013 Isadora Duncan awardee for Outstanding Achievement in Restaging of José Limón’s The Moor’s Pavane and the 2007-8 awardee for Sustained Achievement. He is a Professor Emeritus of Dance at San José State University and has been associated with the Limón Dance Company Foundation as Dancer, Artistic Associate, Reconstructor, Founder & Director of the Limón West Dance Project and San José Operations since 1969. For nearly a decade together with Fred Mathews, he directed the Mathews-Masters Dance Company/New York that toured the U.S., Canada and abroad.
Maestra Barbara Day Turner is the founder and music director of the San José Chamber Orchestra and its family of six youth orchestras. An ardent advocate for new music, she has premiered more than 180 new works with SJCO alone, as well as leading the first performances of 5 American operas. Named a 2012 Silicon Valley Arts Council “On Stage” Artist Laureate, Maestra Day Turner recently completed 15 seasons as Music Administrator and Conductor of the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre. She frequently guest conducts for orchestras and opera companies in the US, Germany and Mexico, and conducted for Opera San José for 18 years. Maestra serves as a judge for the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, and on the advisory boards of OperaNeo in San Diego, the Delphi Trio, and on the board of directors for the National Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy association. She is music director for the Aquilon Music Festival in Oregon.
Performances:
- Fri., October 7, 2022 @ 8pm
- Sat., October 8, 2022 @ 8pm
Please Note: Per state guidelines, face masks are strongly recommended indoors for all attendees, except when actively eating or drinking.
For more info, please see our Health and Safety Policy.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
The 2022 annual performance of International Performing Arts of America (IPAA) is designed as an intermingling platform to various dance troupes, musicians and multi-media artists stemming from around the world.
Performances by artists from the United States, India, Portugal and China will include Chinese Classical Dance, Martial Arts, Peking Opera, Ballet, Chinese Pipa, Violin and Singing, to name a few.
It includes IPAA’s local 30 professional dancers and various Bay Area artists that contribute their time and talents to produce this event under the direction of IPAA Artistic Director Yang Yang, Producer Dennis Nahat, and the many enthusiastic volunteers from throughout the community who are working tirelessly in all areas to ensure one of the “finest and most enjoyable” events of the season.
IPAA’s Performance will include several World Premiere performances and will mark the 5th Anniversary of the founding of the “Newest Theater Company” in the Bay Area. The company was founded in commemoration of the Life and Legacy of the Bay Area’s legendary arts advocate Ann Woo.
Please Note: Per state guidelines, face masks are strongly recommended indoors for all attendees, except when actively eating or drinking.
For more info, please see our Health and Safety Policy.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
With its deep, resonant sound, the viola is known as the orchestra’s inner voice; but its solo magic is equally powerful.
Dazzling English violist Timothy Ridout, one of Europe’s foremost young stars, brings us two contrasting works that will leave listeners marveling.
The program begins with a high-spirited early piece by Afro-English composer Coleridge-Taylor, and Mendelssohn’s joyful Italian Symphony brings it to a close.
Program:
- Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Ballade in A minor
- Ralph Vaughan Williams: Suite for Viola
- Niccolò Paganini: Sonata per la Grand Viola
- Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 Italian
Performances:
- Sat., October 22, 2022 @ 8pm
- Sun., October 23, 2022 @ 2:30pm
NOTE: Please check Symphony San Jose’s website for their current Covid-19 policies and requirements.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
“Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, dreams are forever” – Walt Disney
Golden State Youth Orchestra presents the nostalgic last symphony of Prokofiev (1946 Disney Adaptation) and Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Waltz (1959 Disney Adaptation), along with the passionate Violin Concerto No. 3 by Saint-Saëns and Dvorak’s energetic Carnival Overture as the curtain raiser.
Dr. Yun Song Tay conducts.
Soloist Lisa Saito, age ten, is a 5th grader at Fairmeadow Elementary School in Palo Alto. She began violin lessons at age three and piano lessons at age four in Japan before moving with her family to the Bay Area in 2018, where she studies violin with Ms. Robin Sharp.
She made her orchestral debut this past July with the Stanford Summer Symphony conducted by Mr. Paul Phillips at the Bing Concert Hall.
Lisa has been a member of the Golden State Youth Orchestra for the last three years and is currently the youngest member of the Senior Symphony. She was the concertmaster for the Galbraith Honor Strings in 2020 and participated in the orchestra’s European Tour earlier this summer.
Lisa has attended Music at Tateuchi and the Santa Clara Chamber Music and Young Musicians Academy. She was selected to perform at the Junior Bach Festivals in 2020 – 2022 and has won several violin awards, including the Music International Grand Prix 2021, the KAMSA (Korean-American Music Supporters’ Association) Competition, and the 2022 USOMC (the United States Open Music Competition) Instrumental Ensemble.
Please Note: Per state guidelines, face masks are strongly recommended indoors for all attendees, except when actively eating or drinking.
For more info, please see our Health and Safety Policy.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
After a sold-out American premiere in 2017, prodigy composer/musician Alma Deutscher returns to make her opera conducting debut in a production driven and supported by the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI). OSJ and PHI are thrilled to be joining forces once more to welcome Deutscher back for this pivotal moment in her career.
Based on the classic fairy tale, this family-friendly work is reset at an opera company run by a scheming stepmother, in which the title character is a brilliant composer, laboring as a copyist.
In this production, Cinderella is united with the prince not due to the fit of a glass slipper, but with the beginning of a melody only she knows how to continue.
Performances:
- Sat., November 12, 2022 @ 7:30pm
- Sun., November 13, 2022 @ 2pm
- Thurs., November 17, 2022 @ 7:30pm
- Sun., November 20, 2022 @ 2pm
- Sat., November 26, 2022 @ 2pm (**special Saturday matinee**)
- Sun., November 27, 2022 @ 2pm
NOTE: Please check Opera San Jose’s website for their current Covid-19 policies and requirements.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
> Visitor FAQs
Cellist Julian Schwarz, already near-legendary in his early thirties, marks his second appearance in San Jose with one of his favorite works, Lalo’s Concerto in D minor.
Maestra Falletta opens the concert with Turina’s infectious Danzas, filled with Spanish rhythms and color; and concludes with Dvorák’s masterful, melody-rich Symphony No. 7.
Program:
- Joaquín Turina: Danzas fantásticas
- Edouard Lalo: Cello Concerto
- Antonín Dvorák: Symphony No. 7
Performances:
- Sat., December 3, 2022 @ 8pm
- Sun., December 4, 2022 @ 2:30pm
NOTE: Please check Symphony San Jose’s website for their current Covid-19 policies and requirements.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
Symphony San Jose Chorale and accompanying musicians invite you to join them for their annual Carols in the California. This year’s program features classic carols, including audience singalongs, all in the warm glow of the California Theatre.
While downtown, you can enjoy Christmas in the Park and Winter Wonderland rides just two blocks from the venue.
San Jose comes alive for the holiday season, with activities and memories for the entire family!
NOTE: Please check Symphony San Jose’s website for their current Covid-19 policies and requirements.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
“Delightful. As imaginative as it is captivating! – Metro Silicon Valley
San Jose’s favorite Nutcracker comes to the beautiful California Theatre in downtown San Jose, for a truly magical holiday experience.
The San Jose Nutcracker is a joyful holiday production that transports the well-loved story to turn-of-the-century San Jose.
The fun begins at every performance with festive holiday decorations in the elegant lobby. Attendees can meet costumed characters and be photographed in magical fairytale settings, plus enjoy inventive displays from History San Jose, and treats and toys available for purchase.
Tickets start at just $25.
Options include a VIP Onstage Experience. Select any $95 seat to upgrade to VIP for a fantastical on-stage visit with characters after the show, including a ride in Clara’s beautiful carriage, magical stage effects, and more.
Presented in partnership with History San Jose, The San Jose Nutcracker is performed by New Ballet and accompanied by a live professional orchestra.
Also available: My Very First Nutcracker, a shortened performance with reduced ticket prices for families with young children.
NOTE: AGES 1 AND OVER REQUIRE A TICKET
Performances:
- Fri., December 16, 2022
- Sat., December 17, 2022 @ 2pm & 7pm
- Sun., December 18, 2021 @ 2pm
Please Note: Per state guidelines, face masks are strongly recommended indoors for all attendees, except when actively eating or drinking.
For more info, please see our Health and Safety Policy.
This is a magical holiday ballet for the youngest audiences.
My Very First Nutcracker is a special one-act presentation of The San Jose Nutcracker, ideal for families with toddlers, preschoolers and young children. This joyful holiday production features the festive holiday party, at which Uncle Nikola reveals his fascinating gifts.
Kids will marvel at the historic San Jose Electric Light Tower rising magically above the streets of San Jose, and cheer on adorable mice and toy soldiers who compete to win a magic crown. Introduce your family to the magic of classical ballet!
My Very First Nutcracker has a run time of approximately 55 minutes. Tickets start at $17.
NOTE: My Very First Nutcracker does not include the second act of The San Jose Nutcracker where Clara meets the Sugarplum Fairy and journeys to the “Valley of Heart’s Delight.” For the complete two-act classical ballet with live orchestra, visit newballet.com/nutcracker.
NOTE: AGES 1 AND OVER REQUIRE A TICKET
Please Note: Per state guidelines, face masks are strongly recommended indoors for all attendees, except when actively eating or drinking.
For more info, please see our Health and Safety Policy.
Last season, the Symphony first welcomed world-renowned flutist Denis Bouriakov. With brilliant artistry, Bouriakov adds to the flute’s repertory by identifying and transcribing works that will allow it to shine; and he returns this year to perform Tchaikovsky’s magnificent Violin Concerto – on the flute!
Stravinsky’s lighthearted tribute to the game of poker introduces our concert, followed by Sibelius’ final, greatest symphony.
Program:
- Igor Stravinsky: Jeu de Cartes
- Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
- Pyotr Ilyich: Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto arranged for Flute
Performances:
- Sat., January 21, 2023 @ 8pm
- Sun., January 22, 2023 @ 2:30pm
NOTE: Please check Symphony San Jose’s website for their current Covid-19 policies and requirements.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
Women take charge in Verdi’s hilarious and beloved comedic masterpiece, Falstaff.
Adapted from Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2), this rollicking production offers a joyful look at one of the Bard’s most popular characters — the boisterous knight Sir John Falstaff and his misadventures at the hands of four witty women.
Performances:
- Sat., February 11, 2023 @ 7:30pm
- Sun., February 12, 2023 @ 2pm
- Thurs., February 16, 2023 @ 7:30pm
- Sun., February 19, 2023 @ 2pm
- Fri., February 24, 2023 @ 7:30pm
- Sun., February 26, 2023 @ 2pm
NOTE: Please check Opera San Jose’s website for their current Covid-19 policies and requirements.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
> Visitor FAQs
San Jose’s own Cliburn gold medal winner Jon Nakamatsu joins this season of stars to reprise the first work he ever played with Symphony San Jose: Grieg’s Piano Concerto. (A critic once noted that the work “brought smile after smile to Nakamatsu’s face.”)
The program ends with Florence Price’s pioneering Symphony No. 1, skillfully incorporating spirituals, folk songs and syncopated African American dance rhythms into a classical structure.
Program:
- David Amram: Jhaptal
- Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto
- Florence Price: Symphony No. 1
Performances:
- Sat., March 18, 2023 @ 8pm
- Sun., March 19, 2023 @ 2:30pm
NOTE: Please check Symphony San Jose’s website for their current Covid-19 policies and requirements.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
The season concludes with a vivid production of Puccini’s thriller Tosca.
With breathtaking music and some of opera’s most celebrated arias, follow the tragic story of a tempestuous opera singer and her artist lover, whose passionate involvement with a political prisoner has made them targets of the chief of the secret police.
Music Director Joseph Marcheso leads this production alongside Tara Branham, Opera San José’s first Resident Director, who makes her exciting California Theatre debut.
Performances:
- Sat., April 15, 2023 @ 7:30pm
- Sun., April 16, 2023 @ 2pm
- Thurs., April 20, 2023 @ 7:30pm
- Sun., April 23, 2023 @ 2pm
- Fri., April 28, 2023 @ 7:30pm
- Sun., April 30, 2023 @ 2pm
NOTE: Please check Opera San Jose’s website for their current Covid-19 policies and requirements.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
> Visitor FAQs
Violin virtuoso Anne Akiko Meyers returns with a new commission from preeminent Mexican composer Arturo Marquez. Her request for a concerto based on Mariachi traditions reflected his father’s heritage, and so was born the fiery, soulful Fandango. Last summer’s premiere electrified the audience; Meyers calls it simply “a blockbuster.”
This work is bracketed with Finzi’s lyrical Prelude and Brahms’ Symphony No. 4.
Program:
- Gerald Finzi: Prelude for String Orchestra in F minor
- Arturo Marquez: Fandango
- Brahms: Symphony No. 4
Performances:
- Sat., May 6, 2023 @ 8pm
- Sun., May 7, 2023 @ 2:30pm
NOTE: Please check Symphony San Jose’s website for their current Covid-19 policies and requirements.
> California Theatre Events Calendar
Lyric soprano Maria Valdes, “a star in the making,” opens this program as soloist in Samuel Barber’s haunting masterpiece, Knoxville Summer of 1915.
Added soloists, three choirs and the full orchestra then join her in Carl Orff’s exuberant cantata Carmina Burana, based on medieval poems and songs celebrating the sensual life and deploring fate… bringing the Symphony’s season to a rousing close.
Program:
- Samuel Barber: Knoxville Summer of 1915
- Carl Orff: Carmina Burana
Performances:
- Sat., June 3, 2023 @ 8pm
- Sun., June 4, 2023 @ 2:30pm
NOTE: Please check Symphony San Jose’s website for their current Covid-19 policies and requirements.
> California Theatre Events Calendar