The Maestro Foundation
The Maestro Foundation was the founding organization for Elemental Strings in 2004. We are so grateful for the many years of support and encouragement this wonderful Santa Monica establishment has and continues to provide.
The Santa Monica Symphony has been a major cultural asset for the Southern California Westside community since its debut in 1945 . Its present Music Director, Allen Robert Gross, “has elevated the Orchestra to the echelon of the leading community orchestras in the country.” (Culture Spot LA), that attracts music lovers from all parts of the greater Los Angeles area. The orchestra, which consists of some of the best Los Angeles-area professionals, emerging pre-professional musicians, and accomplished volunteer non-professional community musicians, presents four free concerts each season to an audience of 5,000 persons of all ages. Its repertoire of classical and contemporary music provides well-rounded programs of wide appeal.
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
In 2004, Elemental Strings was created to help support the music programs of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Elemental Strings is an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization, but we are extremely proud to partner with the SMMUSD to provide students with a place where there can make new friends from different schools while preparing for middle school.
The Elemental Strings Mentor Program partners orchestra students at the Santa Monica High School with current Elemental Strings to provide free weekly private lessons. Nearly one quarter of our students are involved in this program this season.
Santa Monica High School Orchestras and the SAMOHI Orchestra Parents’ Association
In 2005, The Santa Monica High School Symphony Orchestra was labeled the best High School level orchestra in the nation by the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) at the National Orchestra Festival in Reno, Nevada. The orchestra program is made up of many different ensembles, ranging from the smaller Beginning Strings / String Orchestra to the large Symphony Orchestra. Many of the orchestras from Santa Monica High School have had the chance to travel around the nation and the world. In February 2006, Symphony Orchestra became the first public high school orchestra to perform in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles. In April 2006, the orchestra traveled to China and toured and performed in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. In 2004 the Symphony Orchestra performed various cathedrals and churches in Vienna, Austria and in Prague, Czech Republic. In 2002 the Symphony Orchestra performed in Carnegie Hall. Recently, the orchestra program was selected for the elite Partnership Program with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. In April 2007, the Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras traveled to San Francisco, where they participated in the California Music Educator’s Association (CMEA) festival. Symphony Orchestra returned to Europe for a trip in March 2008, performing in such esteemed halls as the Rudolfinum and Orangerie of Schönbrunn Palace.