The level of activity that takes place here is extraordinary. Each time we pause and reflect on the magnitude of programs, innovation, and the people who make it all a reality, the breadth of activity never ceases to inspire us to constantly strive to better serve our community. We owe a great deal of thanks to our audiences and donors, our Board, our staff, our musicians, and our artistic leaders for the momentum we are gathering as we move into a post-pandemic, changed world.

One of the many ironies of Samuel Adams’s Variations—a piece, incidentally, devoid of any classical “theme and variation” formula—was that it had been written at the behest of Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, where Adams had been appointed composer-in-residence in 2020. As a result of the Covid pandemic, Adams was “in residence” neither in the Netherlands nor his longtime home in the Bay Area, but rather (as he describes it) in “desert suburbia.”

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we hear directly from our female directors, Vice President of Communications, and Chief Philanthropy Officer about the women who inspired them and their advice for the next generation of arts administrators.

Do you remember the first time you attended an orchestra concert? Or the first time you heard an orchestra live? For many people this influential first experience with an orchestra probably happened at a young age during a school assembly or class field trip.

In this final installment of articles profiling the CSO’s new class of musicians in the 2022–23 season, we meet three string players who all seemed destined to become professional musicians. Not only are bassist Luis Celis, cellist Daniel Kaler and violist Gabe Napoli all just beginning their professional careers, they have each already found a wealth of inspiration during their first few months with the CSO. And, like many of their colleagues, for these three musicians the strong presence of music by Gustav Mahler on the Orchestra’s season programming only sweetens the deal.

View the full issue of Fanfare Magazine.