Symphony Silicon Valley

Symphony Silicon Valley produces it all: outstanding classical concerts; all-free, family-friendly summer pops programs; chorale concerts; special events like the Lord of the Rings film trilogy with its score performed live; accompaniment for visiting groups like Led Zeppelin, local ensembles like Mexican Heritage's VivaFest and Chinese Performing Artists of America, and many many more.

This entrepreneurial arts venture, now completing its 14th year, was founded to retain a skilled ensemble of professional musicians as a resource for this community. It has grown into an important community resource and cultural anchor.

The Symphony is also a cultural change agent for Santa Clara County.  In 2011-12, Symphony Silicon Valley created ArtSPARK, a partnership with a variety of other performing arts organizations to provide free arts engagement activities for Santa Clara County elementary school students, most of whose schools have cut arts from the curriculum. In collaboration with the County Board of Education, ArtSPARK’s long term goal is to serve every one of the 240 elementary schools in the County. 

To date, 88,000 3rd, 4th and 5th graders have experienced a progression of outstanding music, theater and dance performances in their professional venues -- the California Theater, Center for the Performing Arts, Hammer Theater and others.  Managed by the Symphony, ArtSPARK provides free transportation to ensure equal access for all schools, as well as classroom materials that incorporate California Common Core Standards.  With repeated exposure, teachers themselves develop greater comfort with the arts as a valuable approach to learning. The result: they can help students develop the capacity for innovation and self-expression that will serve them throughout their lives.

A teacher wrote the Mercury News the following letter, published under the title “Youth Arts Education Served by ArtSPARK.”

   I understand the concerns of symphony-goers of a certain age, regarding the arts in our busy valley, but take heart, there's ArtSPARK.

   For the past few years fourth-graders from around the county, including my class, have filled the California Theatre to the rafters to participate in a great program by the symphony under the very energetic, kid-friendly baton of Maestro Peter Jaffe. We hear pieces from Bizet to Brubeck, and clap and stomp and whoop in time while we learn about meter.

   Then San Jose Taiko (or other groups eg Mariachi Sol de Mexico) takes the stage and makes the rafters shake while teaching the importance of sound, and silence. It's a perfect morning, which sends my students back to their school …with those stars you were hoping for in their eyes, and that music you love still ringing in their ears. Bravo to ArtSPARK.

Studies show…
(Americans for the Arts)

● Arts education has major benefits that aren’t easily quantified through test scores. It helps students improve visual analysis skills, learn from mistakes, be creative and make better critical judgments.

● Learning through the arts helps level the playing field for English learners and youngsters from disadvantaged circumstances.

● Teachers at schools that emphasize arts education enjoy greater job satisfaction, encourage multiple learning styles, and use more innovative  classroom teaching techniques.

Symphony Silicon Valley's ArtSPARK provides…

  ● An annual, high-quality performing arts experience for  Santa Clara County schoolchildren completely free of charge.

  ● A collaborative, scalable, cost-efficient program.  Services are delivered for about $1.65 per attending child.

  ● A common, shared experience for the  County’s diverse students. Who attends? SCC elementary schools, over half Title 1, from up to 21 districts; and entire grade levels instead of single classes  51% of the students qualify for subsidized lunches.

● Arts education materials and classroom resources for the teachers who attend each year. Teacher focus groups and feedback make sure that ArtSPARK works in the classroom as well as on stage 

● 100% of ArtSPARK’s costs are funded by charitable donations  from our community.  You can double the impact of your support by making a gift through SVgives today!