The Santa Cruz Symphony
Daniel Stewart directing the Santa Cruz Symphony.
(Via Santa Cruz Symphony)
City Life

Strauss to Star Wars and Rossini to Ravel, Santa Cruz Symphony fires up for 2023-24 season

Kicking off Sept. 23 at the Civic Auditorium and also playing at the Henry J. Mello Center in Watsonville, the Santa Cruz Symphony’s upcoming season promises variety.

This story was originally featured in this week’s Weekender newsletter. Be the first to hear about arts and entertainment news in Santa Cruz County — sign up for Wallace’s email newsletter here and and text alerts here.

The Santa Cruz Symphony has announced its 2023-24 season, to kick off Sept. 23 with “Echos of Empire,” featuring selections from Strauss and Respighi. On Oct. 21-22, the symphony jumps into the operatic canon with “Operas of Seville,” featuring selections from Rossini, Mozart, Verdi, Bizet and Beethoven.

Moving into 2024, the symphony strikes up again Jan. 20-21 with a performance of Ravel’s “Daphnis & Chloe.” The “Festivals” concert March 23-24 features pieces from Granero, Schumann and Stravinsky. And the season culminates with the symphony’s performance of Bach’s “B Minor Mass,” May 4-5.

That’s followed by the symphony’s annual Pops concert, this time featuring the best of composer John Williams, with selections from “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” “Jurassic Park” and more. The Pops concert is at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium only, while the other concerts are at both the Civic and at the Henry J. Mello Center in Watsonville.