San Jose has a strong legacy of symphonic music, dating back to 1877 when the town was nothing much more than a small collection of homes in a dusty agricultural valley.
For the first few decades, orchestral ensembles performed irregularly. In 1937, a formal symphony association was established, at first calling itself the San Jose Civic Orchestra, which was later changed to the San Jose Symphony.
Following a suspension during World War II, the music returned and the orchestra shifted from a volunteer group playing just a couple of concerts a year to a paid ensemble playing even more, eventually becoming a full-time orchestra. Concerts were held at the Civic Auditorium until 1971 when the Symphony moved to the new Center for the Performing Arts.
With ever-growing expenses that continuously exceeded revenue, the San Jose Symphony closed its doors in October 2001. Unable to financially recover, the organization declared bankruptcy and was dissolved in 2002.
That same year, Andrew Bales, General Director of Ballet San Jose, began presenting orchestra concerts as Symphony Silicon Valley. The concept was to keep the core ballet orchestra, most of whom were members of the old San Jose Symphony, employed and in town. Debuting in November 2002, the Symphony opened to rave reviews and extended standing ovations.
In 2004, the Symphony moved to its new home, the magnificently restored California Theatre. In 2005, when the San Jose State University Community Chorus was displaced from their university home, the Symphony welcomed them and they now perform as the Symphony San Jose Chorale. In 2021, the organization officially changed its name to Symphony San Jose.
What started as a four-performance season in 2002 has today grown into more than three dozen performances a year, with a broad and diverse lineup of classics, popular, education, family, and film repertoire. More than 30,000 individuals from all across the greater San Jose community are served each year.
