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At age 6, Enluis Montes Olivar attended his first concert in his native Venezuela and was immediately enthralled, particularly by the percussion instruments — tympani, cymbals, all of it.
But when he was asked, “What instrument would you like to play?”, Enluis had a much different answer: “I want to conduct!”

As one who holds a Master’s in Music from Westminster Choir College, one of the nation’s leading choral institutions, it stands to reason that Dr. Ryan Board — at some point in his career as an internationally acclaimed conductor and singer — would have performed one of classical music’s milestone choral works, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

To conclude its Oct. 21, 1994 opening night concert, the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza presented the rousing finale to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, featuring the Conejo Valley Symphony and local choirs conducted by Elmer Ramsey.

The years around 1850 that brought California into the Union were also a time of burgeoning American musical identity. The “melting pot effect” that permeated most aspects of American life had an equally powerful impact on the melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic qualities of American Song. The emergence of ragtime, the blues and jazz in the late 1800s into the twentieth century became national obsessions and forever changed America’s musical landscape.

While much of traditional Mexican music draws influences from Europe and Africa, there is no question that this bright, joyful music — with multiple sub-genres, from Son Jarocho to Musica Norteña — is, ultimately, the creation of Mexico’s indigenous people.

Big, bulky and, well, challenging to carry much less play, the double bass is considered by some to be less glamorous than other instruments, adding harmony and texture but rarely capturing the spotlight of playing the melody.

That Brighton Thomas is establishing a successful career in music should surprise no one who watched her grow up in Burbank, and hearing her sing nearly as often as she spoke.

In Memory of Peter Van Name “I think that we owe generations to come to preserve the cultural experience that’s been around for centuries.” - Peter Van NameThe New West Symphony family deeply mourns the loss of our valued and longstanding board member and friend,...

The Catlins are local philanthropists who have long supported the New West Symphony and its programs.