Looking for classical music in Sacramento? Here’s a guide to all of the best spots
The capital city and its environs offer many opportunities for classical music lovers to indulge their passion. Here is a rundown of several options, with contact information for each.
Camellia Symphony Orchestra
Music director Christian Baldini is currently leading the orchestra through its 57th season, offering a varied palette with time-honored standards and brand-new compositions. With its attractive performance venue at McClatchy High School and low ticket prices, the Camellia Symphony Orchestra prides itself on being an affordable family-friendly choice.
Website: www.camelliasymphony.org
Phone: 916-929-6655
Chamber Music Society of Sacramento
The Chamber Music society alternates between Davis and Sacramento in presenting small-scale music with a big impact. During its 33rd season, the society is featuring many neglected female composers in its mix of old and new.
Website: http://cmssacto.org
Citywater
The Citywater ensemble bills itself as “Sacramento’s only ensemble dedicated to contemporary classical music.” Newly composed music is its bread and butter. Citywater often performs local premieres, sometimes with the composer in attendance.
Website: www.citywatermusic.com
Crocker Art Museum Classical Concerts
The Crocker Art Museum in downtown Sacramento sponsors an eclectic series of classical music concerts. The museum’s event calendar keeps interested parties apprised of future performances and performers. The $20 ticket price is hard to beat — unless you’re a member of the Crocker Art Museum, in which case it costs only $10.
Website: www.crockerart.org/calendar
Phone: 916-808-7000
Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts
The Mondavi Center on the UCD campus is the jewel in the crown for performing arts in Davis. A venue favored by touring classical music ensembles, including such notables as the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the Mondavi also hosts many other musical genres and performing arts. To help visitors navigate the Mondavi Center’s comprehensive offerings, its website groups the events into a kaleidoscopic array of categories to choose from: Americana, Classical, Contemporary Classical, Dance, Film, Jazz, Speakers, Theater and World.
Website: www.mondaviarts.org/events
Phone Number: 530-754-2787.
Harris Center for the Arts
Folsom Lake College is fortunate to be the site of the Harris Center for the Arts (formerly known as “Three Stages”). As a versatile performance venue, the Harris Center plays host to several musical ensembles and programs, as well as visiting groups on tour. These include, among others, the VITA Academy’s Great Composers Chamber Music Series, Sacramento Baroque Soloists, and the Folsom Lake Symphony.
Website: www.harriscenter.net/events
Phone: 916-608-6888
Music at Noon
Workers in downtown Sacramento, or visitors in the vicinity of the State Capitol, can readily avail themselves of an hour’s surcease from worry and hustle with Westminster Presbyterian Church’s Music at Noon program. Completely free to all attendees, Music at Noon features skilled local artists and visiting musicians on Wednesdays. Concerts are posted in a monthly flyer on the church’s website.
Website: www.westminsac.org/music-noon
Phone: 916-442-8939
Rogue Music Project
A young ensemble in every sense of the word, the Rogue Music Project has already made a name for itself with hilarious operatic send-ups at after-parties following the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera’s annual opera performances. In a more serious but still brash vein, the classically-trained Rogues mounted the local premiere performance of Hugo Weisgall’s opera “The Stronger” with the Magpie Café as its venue. Anything is possible.
Website: www.roguemusicproject.com
Sacramento Ballet
It has been 65 years since the founding of the Sacramento Ballet, still going strong with programs featuring well-known classical works (like 2018’s “Carmina Burana”) and recently choreographed compositions (like last year’s “Mozart in Motion”).
Website: www.sacballet.org
Phone: 916-552-5800.
Sacramento Children’s Chorus
Under the guidance of artistic director Alex Grambow, the Sacramento Children’s Chorus is training the next generation of performers with direct hands-on experience in which the audience plays an important role. Since 1993, children from 7 to 19 have learned the art of singing in public and have toured the world to demonstrate their skills.
Website: www.sacramentochildrenschorus.org
Phone: 916-646-1141
Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra
The SCSO says that its mission is “to provide world-class choral orchestral music for the people of the Greater Sacramento Region,” and the world agrees. Internationally recognized for its globe-spanning tours, the Choral Society is a star in Sacramento’s cultural firmament. The SCSO performs both famous traditional works and new music, including the occasional world premiere of compositions it commissions. Longtime music director Donald Kendrick presides with a sure hand over the ensemble’s 24th season.
Website: https://sacramentochoral.com
Phone: 916-536-9065
Sacramento Community Concert Association
Currently in its 67th season, the SCCA claims pride of place as the capital city’s oldest continuous classical music organization. With its roster of rising young stars and modest ticket prices, the association showcases notable talents in a wide and expanding repertoire.
Website: www.sccaconcerts.org
Phone: 916-400-4634
Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera
While its history goes all the way back to the Sacramento Symphony of over a hundred years ago, the current Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera is a young organization founded in 2015. However, it has drawn on the legacy of its predecessor organizations to swiftly become one of the capital city’s most visible and successful exponents of classical music. A changing roster of guest conductors brings variety to the podium. Recent ventures into the work of living composers illustrates the SPO’s initiatives in repertoire, in addition to a steady diet of the great classics.
Website: www.sacphilopera.org
Phone: 916-476-5975
Sacramento Youth Symphony
The Sacramento Youth Symphony boasts a complement of over 400 talented musicians and offers more than 20 concerts each year. Founded in 1956, the SYS is proud of the alumni of its program, who have gone on to play with such notable organizations as the New York Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony.
Website: www.sacramentoyouthsymphony.org
Phone: 916-731-5777
Symphony d’Oro
Originally born as the Rancho Cordova Civic Light Orchestra, Symphony d’Oro was rebranded with its current name a couple of years ago and has already made its local mark with such events as the world premiere of Derek Sup’s piano concerto, which it commissioned. Music director Pete Nowlen leads the ensemble, which usually offers four concerts each year, plus accompaniment for local civic events in Rancho Cordova.
Website: www.symphonydoro.org
UC Davis Symphony Orchestra
As a major teaching institution, the University of California at Davis offers an extensive music education that includes the opportunity to perform with the university’s symphony orchestra. Its musicians come from the student body, the UC Davis faculty, and the larger community. It enjoys the home-court advantage of the Mondavi Center on campus as its performance venue, giving the many young amateurs in the ensemble the opportunity to play in a world-class venue. They rise to the occasion with performances of both traditional and experimental repertoire.
Website: https://arts.ucdavis.edu/symphony
CapRadio Calendar
The capital region is replete with skilled performers and opportunities to see them in action. However, it can be difficult to keep track of everything that is going on, even if you sign up for the individual organizations’ notices and set up multiple Google alerts. It is therefore a relief to discover that one can take advantage of the diligent work of others. Capital Public Radio has a continually updated calendar of events on its website, a feature affiliated with Sacramento365.com. Organized by category, the calendar is readily searched for musical performances featuring classical and operatic compositions. The CapRadio calendar serves performers as well, who are encouraged to post program information on the site, making it as comprehensive as possible.
Website: https://events.capradio.org/categories/classicalopera/
