OUR GOAL

The mission of the Capistrano Valley Symphony is to provide concerts and educational programs of the highest quality symphonic music for the residents of South Orange County . . . and to make this music affordable and accessible to the broadest possible audience.

A BRIEF HISTORY

The Symphony was founded in 1984 by the late Donn Lawrence Mills, a noted conductor, composer, author, and the music director of a number of orchestras in the United States and Canada. He served as Music Director for Chapman University. Since its debut, the Symphony has worked to provide the South Orange County communities exciting musical programs at a variety of venues, both indoors and out. These have ranged from public park facilities to local playhouses and hotel ballrooms. The performances vary from our "Riviera Pops" series to chamber music and includes special event programs on the 4th of July and during the winter holiday season.

COMMUNITY AND EDUCATION

The Symphony serves an area with a population of a million people living in communities from Newport Beach and Tustin to San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. It has performed for over 100,000 people to date.

The education programs include free in-school concerts for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade children. Teacher guides and classroom materials developed with the Orange County School Districts are made available prior to the concerts and the children are bussed to the performances at one of the local schools. Over 20,000 students have experienced the live sound of a full symphony orchestra in this program.

YOUR SUPPORT IS VITAL

The Capistrano Valley Symphony currently has an annual budget of upward of $250,000. It is a volunteer organization supported by one paid full-time office administrator and a part-time bookkeeper. The average concert costs $18,000 to $20,000. The in-school concerts cost a minimum of $5,000 each. Only 60% of our budget is covered by ticket sales. The balance comes from the active involvement of the board of trustees, grants from local governments and corporations, and from individual sponsors.

ADD YOUR NAME TO THE DONORS CIRCLE

The Symphony is a non-profit organization and donations are tax deductible. Our annual Donors Circle and our Strike-A-Note for the Classics Society are tvvo ways to contribute. The Strike-A-Note for the Classics Society provides a way to spread your donation over five years by which commitments from $500 to $100,000 have been received from corporations, charitable groups, small businesses, and individuals. Your donation will receive recognition and excellent publicity in South Orange County, and you will receive the support and patronage of the areas citizens.