Where great music comes to life.
Journey straight to the heart of the music where conductor, soloists, and audience become one. Explore new ways to listen and hear. Be inspired by the shared experience of live music.
Vision
To present the highest caliber of orchestral symphonic concerts and connect and engage with the local community of musicians and audiences, while continually expanding our reach to include all types of people who share a love of classical music. We strive to involve people in a thriving classical music scene that serves to add to the culture and the quality of life in Marin, and to support the values and benefits of maintaining it.
Mission
To continually improve the artistic excellence of the Marin Symphony Orchestra, and its presence and impact in the Bay Area as a high quality local, professional and accessible organization. To enrich, educate, and transform lives through classical music.
Audience development
We work to embrace and further Marin Symphony’s loyal and passionate audience relationships, and appeal to new audiences, including Marin County’s underserved, youth, and families.
Music
The primary focus is to create exceptional, high quality music experiences in Marin. The programs and performances express the beauty and excitement of classical music. Each season from October through May, Marin Symphony presents Masterworks classical concerts, Holiday Choral Concerts by Candlelight, Holiday Pops, a Pops series, and the Family Concert.
Education
The educational programs are designed to engage and empower audiences of today and tomorrow. Established in 1954, the programs include the Marin Symphony Youth Orchestra (ages 12-19), Crescendo/Overture (ages 8-15), and Symphony@Schools.
History
The Marin Symphony Association is one of the longest-running, most prestigious, cultural organizations in Marin County and the Bay Area. The orchestra was the inspiration of a small group of professional and amateur musicians who wished to bring classical music, performed by local artists, to the people of Marin. Originally chartered as the Symphony Guild of Marin, the new organization also committed to providing programs to give young people in Marin an incentive for musical study and accomplishment.
The Marin Symphony’s first official concert was held on December 14, 1952 at Marin County Catholic High School. The Symphony’s performances remained there through the succeeding 13 seasons. The Symphony’s second home through 1970 was the auditorium at the College of Marin. In 1971, the Symphony moved to its permanent home in the newly opened, 2,000-seat Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium (VMA) where it remained until October, 1989, when seismic reinforcement to the hall necessitated a two-year hiatus. During this interval, the Symphony performances moved to Angelico Hall at Dominican University. On the occasion of the auditorium’s 20th Anniversary on November 17, 1991, the Symphony returned to the VMA. With the VMA undergoing another retrofit, symphony performances are housed at College of Marin James Dunn Theatre.
The orchestra has grown to include approximately 85 musicians, comprised of union players. These musicians come from all over the Bay Area and represent many major orchestral and classical music organizations.