The season includes performances of pieces by Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Beethoven, Bernstein, Copland, Brahms, Handel, Sondheim and John Adams
The New West Symphony has announced its 2026 concert season, featuring works by American and European composers to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and said it received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for a related project.
The season includes performances of pieces by Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Beethoven, Bernstein, Copland, Brahms, Handel, Sondheim and John Adams, along with jazz, blues and gospel influences. It also brings back cirque performers for one program and concludes with a gospel version of Handel’s Messiah.
A highlight is a June 27 concert at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, supported by the NEA grant. The program features a new work setting Reagan’s speeches to music from his films and favorite songs, in collaboration with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.
The NEA grant is part of a national initiative honoring figures for the country’s semiquincentennial.
Other concerts are scheduled at venues in Thousand Oaks and Camarillo from January through December.
The orchestra, founded in 1995, performs primarily in Ventura County and includes community education programs.
