Mission Orchestra opened its doors tonight, Tuesday, September 7th at 7:00 PM for ALL interested players in and around the Santa Clarita Valley. This will be the inaugural season of the organization, which is a volunteer-based orchestra located in Santa Clarita. Rehearsals will take place every Tuesday evening from 7-10 PM at the Rio Norte JHS Band Room, with a culmination of our first concert, “Great Music of the Stage and Film” on Saturday, December 4th at 7:00 PM at Santa Clarita United Methodist Church.
“The pandemic was exceptionally hard on performing arts organizations” says Artistic Director Dr. Joshua Wentz. “We had two wonderful community orchestras before the pandemic (Symphony of the Canyons and Santa Clarita Philharmonic) but neither survived. Now - more than ever before - there is a real need for orchestra music in Santa Clarita and the calming peace and beauty that it provides.” Interested players can visit https://form.jotform.com/211115905569153 to join.
The goals of the organization include two concerts a year to start, a collaboration with the Santa Clarita Youth Orchestra, a Youth Concerto Competition, as well as educational outreach into our area schools. Mission Orchestra will operate under Mission Opera, a nonprofit 501(c)3 educational charity, for its first year. Individual contributions are necessary to get this organization started and incredibly appreciated. Please visit www.missionopera.com and click the large ‘donate’ icon to make a fully tax-deductible donation today.
(For media coverage, press are invited to attend the first two rehearsals: tonight between 6-10 pm or next Tuesday, Sept 14th from 7-10 pm. No RSVP required, unless reporter unavailable during these times.)
Media contact - Ashley Turner, info@missionopera.com or (661)347-8270.
Most sincerely,
Joshua Wentz, DMA
Associate Professor of Music, Los Angeles Mission College
Baritone Voice Professor, California State University Northridge
Artistic & Executive Director, Mission Opera
(818)833-3357
josh@missionopera.com
wentzj@laccd.edu
www.missionopera.com
www.joshwentz.com
