Message from the Maestro
Dear Friends of Redwood Symphony,
As always, I’m planning concerts that provide an ambitious mix of old and new, favorites and fresh discoveries, presented locally and affordably, by me and the orchestra’s enthusiastic volunteer musicians and friends. Please note that admission is still free for accompanied minors.
Thank you for your continued support of this outstanding ensemble!
Season Highlights
To begin the season, Redwood Symphony is celebrating America’s 250th birthday with a family concert full of delightful American classics. Children of all ages are invited for a tour of our orchestra and a few lucky individuals will be selected to conduct our grand finale, Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever!
The other special event, in April 2027, will be the Igor Stravinsky Festival. The orchestra will perform two concerts on the same day, celebrating one of my favorite composers. Stravinsky has had a greater impact on what we still think of as Modern Music than any other composer. For about the cost of one concert, come hear an array of Stravinsky’s greatest works, including The Rite of Spring, the Symphony of Psalms, Violin Concerto (with Claudia Bloom), Les Noces, The Soldier’s Tale, and much more.
Mahler’s Seventh Symphony is my favorite of his works, and so I’m delighted to be returning to it for the third time. This is Mahler at his most eccentric, experimental, stream-of-conscious, ironic, hilarious and dark; all of those qualities encompassed in a five-movement symphony that includes mandolin, guitar and distant cowbells.
Together with the brilliant roster of soloists, I’m looking forward to another exciting year of performances with you!
Best regards,
Dr. Eric Kujawsky
Founder and Music Director
Redwood Symphony
Series concert tickets may be purchased either as a subscription or as individual performances.
Special concerts are not included in season ticket packages.
Happy Rootin’ Tootin’ Birthday, America!
Special concert
Sat September 12, 2026 at 2:00 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- John Williams Liberty Fanfare
- Aaron Copland Suite from Billy the Kid (excerpts)
- Leonard Bernstein Danzon from Fancy Free
- Richard Hayman Pops Hoe-Down
Conducted by Kyle Baldwin
- John Philip Sousa The Stars and Stripes Forever
Join us for Redwood Symphony’s Family Concert!. Kids — and adults — will love this concert, which starts with a Tour of the Orchestra and concludes with a group conducting lesson (free glowing batons for all!) and ten raffle winners conducting the orchestra in a Sousa March!
Season Opener – The American Spirit
Series concert
Sat October 10, 2026 at 7:30 pm
pre-concert talk at 6:45 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- Leonard Bernstein Danzon from Fancy Free
- Aaron Copland Suite from Billy the Kid
- Jennifer Higdon Blue Cathedral
Conducted by Kyle Baldwin
- Sergei Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
- Julia Greer, piano
Copland’s rip-roarin’ score of Billy the Kid delightfully captures the thrills, narrow escapes, gun fights, and barroom brawls of the original ballet’s story. In another ballet a few years later, his friend Leonard Bernstein captured the optimism and energy of wartime New York City: “a helluva town.” Jennifer Higdon’s moving memorial to her brother, Blue Cathedral, is a delicate masterpiece and her most popular work. Rachmaninoff’s dazzling Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, written after he had emigrated to America, closes the concert with virtuoso brilliance–and a parting wink.
LA SALSA!
Series concert
Sat November 21, 2026 at 7:30 pm
pre-concert talk at 6:45 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- Roberto Sierra Sinfonía No. 3 “La Salsa”
- Raymond Scott Powerhouse
- Michael Daugherty Hell’s Angels
- Infernal Fagotti Bassoon Quartet
- Benjamin Britten Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
Roberto Sierra is one of today’s fastest-rising composers, thanks in large part to his hugely popular third sinfonia, heard here in its Bay Area debut. The concert will take a detour to Daugherty’s fever dream of crazed motorcyclists, personified by a quartet of bassoons (Italian: fagotti), but conclude triumphantly with Britten’s popular tour of the modern orchestra.
Mahler’s Night Symphony
Series concert
Sat February 20, 2027 at 7:30 pm
pre-concert talk at 6:45 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 7
Mahler’s Seventh Symphony is one of the most enigmatic works ever written – a vast nocturnal journey filled with shadow, mystery, strange dances and radiant awakenings. Moving from darkness toward blazing light, Mahler expands the symphony into a psychological and emotional landscape unlike anything heard before or after.
Stravinsky Festival I: The Soldier’s Tale and A Wedding
Series concert
Sat April 17, 2027 at 4:30 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- Igor Stravinsky Fanfare for a New Theater
- Igor Stravinsky The Soldier’s Tale
Conducted by Eric Kujawsky
- Igor Stravinsky Danse russe (from Petrushka)
- Natalya Lundtvedt, piano
- Igor Stravinsky Dumbarton Oaks Concerto
Conducted by Kyle Baldwin
- Igor Stravinsky Les Noces
- San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir
Stravinsky Chamber and Choral Music: The Soldier’s Tale and A Wedding. It’s Concert One of a double header Stravinsky weekend. Guest artists include audience favorite pianist, Natalya Lundtvedt, and the San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir.
Stravinsky Festival II: Rites of Spring
Series concert
Sat April 17, 2027 at 7:30 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- Igor Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms
Conducted by Buddy James
- Schola Cantorum Silicon Valley
- Igor Stravinsky Circus Polka
Conducted by Eric Kujawsky
- Igor Stravinsky Violin Concerto
- Claudia Bloom, violin
- Igor Stravinsky The Rite of Spring
Concert Two of our Stravinsky double header features his orchestral music, highlighted by The Rite of Spring. We’re joined by violinist Claudia Bloom, and Schola Cantorum Silicon Valley led by Buddy James.
Miranda Liu plays Prokofiev 1: Courage & Vision
Series concert
Sat June 5, 2027 at 7:30 am
pre-concert talk at 6:45 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- Alfred Schnittke (K)ein Sommernachtstraum
- Sergey Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1
- Miranda Liu, violin
- Jean Sibelius Symphony No. 2
Sibelius’ most popular work seems to draw its thrilling energy from Finland’s craggy landscape and heroic people. Prokofiev’s first violin concerto is an amazing, even visionary work by a prodigal, rebellious 26-year-old, and a sobering reminder of the composer’s later “smoothed edges,” under Stalin’s rule. Schnittke, living in Stalinist and post-Soviet times, inhabits a musical world that is utterly outrageous, ridiculous, yet moving as well.
Viva Italia!
Special concert
Sat June 26, 2027 at 7:00 pm
Redwood City Courthouse Square
2200 Broadway, Redwood City, CA 94063
Learn More | FREE CONCERT!
- Gioachino Rossini La Gazza Ladra Overture
- Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 (“Italian”)
Once more, we are pleased to play for Redwood City’s Classical on the Square offering! Bring your lawn chairs and settle in under a warm summer sky to enjoy great music from Redwood City’s only symphony orchestra!
Beethoven and Brahms/Musical Vistas
Special concert
Sat July 24, 2027 at 7:30 pm
pre-concert talk at 6:45 pm
Cañada College Main Theater
4200 Farm Hill Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94061
- Johannes Brahms Serenade No. 1
- Claude Debussy Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
- Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 8
Brahms’s radiant Serenade No. 1 honors classical tradition while expanding it. Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun dissolves musical boundaries into impressionistic color, and Beethoven’s witty Eighth Symphony celebrates invention through disruptive, boisterous humor.