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Celebrate our New Concert Season at the Prelude Party!

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The Chico Guild's annual Prelude Party has special excitement in store for Sunday, September 20, as the new Music Director of the North State Symphony, Scott Seaton is the honored guest.

Light refreshments, live music by eclectic band The Upstairs Neighbors, and the most wonderful folks in Chico make this evening special.

The North State Symphony concert season (beginning September 26th in Redding, September 27th in Chico) will be the focus of Scott Seaton's remarks.

Proceeds benefit the Chico Guild, a volunteer organization supporting the North State Symphony.

Click HERE for directions, and to purchase tickets.

It’s That Annie B’s Time of Year! Donate Today

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Donations to North State Symphony during August and September can be made through the Annie B's Community Drive. In addition to your gift, the Symphony will also receive a percentage increase from the pool of funds made available by other community-minded folks.

Click HERE to donate to the North State Symphony!

For the first time, supporters of the Chico Guild may also support the Guild directly via Annie B's! Click HERE to donate to the Chico Guild!

 

Checks can be made out to "Annie B's/North State Symphony" (or "Annie B's/Chico Guild NSS").

Mail checks to:
North Valley Community Foundation
240 Main Street, Suite 260
Chico, CA 95928

The Curtain’s Up on Our New Concert Season!

North State Symphony announces the music to be played in the four major concerts of their 2015–16 season under new Music Director Scott Seaton. Curtain Up! is this season's theme as the Symphony moves into a dynamic new artistic era under Maestro Seaton and a new era of visionary season sponsorship by Dignity Health.

Tickets are now on sale for the four-concert season described below. For those who cannot purchase the four-concert package, individual concert tickets are available beginning the second week in August.

Seaton has included many of the classical world’s most famous and beloved pieces by composers such as Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Leonard Bernstein, and Mozart. Contrasting with the famous masterworks are new and unusual pieces in a variety of styles.

The Symphony’s season opens on September 26 in Redding and September 27 in Chico. Two iconic orchestral pieces will be played on the opening concert, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, played by Alpin Hong.  An overture by the Bohemian composer Smetana, and a new work complete the program.

The November concerts take place on November 14 in Chico and November 15 in Redding.  Seaton will conduct a feast of highly varied music, originally written over a period from the 18th century to the 1950s. The featured work is Bernstein’s popular West Side Story in a setting for orchestra, which will be joined by a variety of works including a symphony by Haydn, and the ever-popular “Blue Danube” Waltz by Johann Strauss II.  Violinist Brianna Ruiz, winner of the 2015 Young Artist Auditions, is featured.

Following special Christmas Holiday, Chamber Music and Youth Concerts in December and January, the full North State Symphony returns in February with favorites for traditional music-lovers. Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture begins the concert, which ends with the Second Symphony of Johannes Brahms. Between Mozart and Brahms, a brilliant young violinist Andrew Sords, will play the concerto by Jean Sibelius. Dates are February 27 in Redding and February 28 in Chico.

Seaton’s premiere season ends in May of 2016 with another rich variety of music. Short works by Beethoven (Leonore Overture #3), Puccini (Preludio Sinfonico) and the contemporary composer Mason Bates (Mothership) set off a beautifully passionate and virtuosic display by Rachmaninoff, his Symphonic Dances. The May schedule consists of an evening concert on May 14 in Chico and an afternoon concert in Redding on May 15.

The beautiful Cascade Theatre is the North State Symphony’s Redding home for its major concerts, while elegant Laxson Auditorium hosts the Chico mainstage concerts. Evening concerts begin at 7:30 PM at both venues. Afternoon concerts in Chico begin at 2:00 PM, while the two Sunday afternoon concerts in Redding will be held at a new time -- 4:00 PM -- by popular request.

To purchase tickets for Redding concerts, call the Cascade Theatre Box Office at 530-243-8877. Tickets for the Chico concerts are available through the University Box Office by calling 530-898-6333.

North State Symphony is a project of California State University, Chico and is supported by various departments of the University as well as community Board members, donors and volunteers in both Redding and Chico. For more information,  call 530-898-5984.

Chico Guild cookbook now on sale!

cookbook glamor shot2The Chico Guild of the North State Symphony has created a custom cookbook, "A Symphony for the Palate," featuring over 250 favorite recipes from the Guild, the Redding League, and symphony musicians and supporters. These cookbooks are professionally published and are sure to be a treasured keepsake for us all. Money raised will be used directly for the North State Symphony.

Cookbooks are $15 each plus tax. Contact the North State Symphony office for purchasing information.

Click here for more information about our cookbook, and for a free recipe!