Poway Symphony Orchestra celebrating 10th year with gala concert

In honor of 10 years of bringing free, accessible symphony music to the community, the Poway Symphony Orchestra is performing a gala concert on Sunday.

The concert will begin at 4 p.m. and will be at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, 15498 Espola Road. Admission is free, donations are appreciated.

There will be a free reception following the concert at the PCPA. Concert attendees are welcome to attend.

“(Our 10 year anniversary) is exciting, it’s a big deal,” said Concertmaster Ulli Reiner, who founded the orchestra in late 2004. It performed its first concert on April 1, 2005. “(The 10th anniversary) means it was always the right thing to do for the community. We’re looking forward to the next 10 years.”

The orchestra is made up entirely of volunteers and is run through the Poway Adult School, which is part of the Poway Unified School District.

Reiner started the orchestra because she had a vision to create a symphony orchestra in the area that would provide local musicians a chance to play in a full orchestra and would regularly perform in local venues, said Bo Matthys, who handles the orchestra’s publicity.

In the 10 years since it began, the orchestra has performed almost 30 concerts and has performed over 75 different works by great classical composers, including Bach, Beethoven, Grieg, Mozart, Gershwin and many more. Though it started small, it is now a full-sized symphony orchestra.

The orchestra performs three concerts a year at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, with at least one concert a year featuring a guest soloist. All their concerts have been free.

Though the gala concert was originally intended to feature a guest soloist, Reiner and John LoPiccolo, the orchestra’s new music director, decided to have the concert focus entirely on the orchestra itself. “We wanted to showcase the orchestra, the diversity and skill of the musicians we have,” said Reiner.

The concert will feature festive music in celebration, beginning with the “Festive Overture,” by Dimitri Shostakovitch. “There is hardly a more exciting and joyous piece of music ever written, with the full orchestra on display,” said Matthys.

The orchestra will follow that piece with the “Symphony No. 31,” by Mozart and the “Symphonic Dances,” by Grieg. “These are engaging pieces of music that have pleased audiences again and again all over the world,” said Matthys.

Reiner said that the orchestra is looking to expand in the next 10 years, not just in size but in their repertoire of music. “We’re much more mature an ensemble (than we started as), and we’re looking forward to doing bigger and better things.” The orchestra is hoping to be able to offer a season brochure in the future announcing their concerts and what they will be performing, to allow people something to look forward to, Reiner said.

Most of all, the orchestra will remain focused on providing classical music to the community. “The orchestra has been called a gem and a gift to the community. I hope that (the orchestra) will continue to blossom, grow and thrive in the community even after (Reiner and the others who began the orchestra) are gone.”