A Holiday GIFT for You!

McAfee Performing Arts Center, Saratoga
Sunday, December 12, 2021, 3:00 PM

The Wind Symphony kicks off the year in a thankful mood – and to show our thanks to everyone who supported us during our time off, we’re dishing up a FREE concert!

Come celebrate the spirit of the season with holiday favorites from Irving Berlin, Leroy Anderson, Victor Herbert and more. Other highlights include Alfred Reed’s dramatic Russian Christmas Music and a rollicking suite of themes from movie The Polar Express.

Important: Although the concert is free, tickets are required for all audience members. THERE WILL BE NO TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR. You can pick up a free ticket – and make an optional donation to SJWS – by clicking the button on the left.

That’s Italian!

McAfee Performing Arts Center, Saratoga
Sunday, February 27, 2022, 3:00 PM
Pasquale Esposito, Italian tenor

SJWS is excited to welcome one of the world’s most popular and talented singers, Italian tenor Pasquale Esposito, for an afternoon of Italian and Neapolitan vocal favorites.

The accent is on opera as SJWS performs works by Verdi, Puccini, Rossini and other great Italian composers. The concert also features the pulse-quickening, Lone-Ranger-evoking William Tell Overture.

Be sure to catch Pasquale’s television special, Pasquale Esposito: In the Spirit of Christmas, which airs on PBS this fall. Visit www.pasqualeesposito.com for more information.

RemEMbering Darrell

McAfee Performing Arts Center, Saratoga
Sunday, May 15, 2022, 3:00 PM
Guest soloists TBA

SJWS and the entire South Bay community were saddened by the recent loss of our friend, mentor and founding conductor, Darrell Johnston, who passed away in May 2021 at the age of 90.

Maestro Johnston founded SJWS in 1957 and remained at the podium for 44 years before handing the baton to Dr. Harris in 2002. Under Darrell’s leadership, SJWS became one of the premier community bands in the country, providing an opportunity for non-professional, adult musicians to continue to perform at a high level.

This concert pays tribute to Maestro Johnston by showcasing some of his favorite works. In addition to his conducting skills, Darrell was also a formidable clarinetist. To celebrate that aspect of the Maestro’s musical personality, we’ve invited Jon Manasse, one of our nation’s premier clarinet soloists, to join us. Jon will perform Carl Maria von Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor.