City of Irvine Honors Pacific Symphony with Official Proclamation
At the Aug. 9 Irvine City Council meeting, Mayor Farrah N. Khan and members of the Irvine City Council made a formal proclamation honoring Pacific Symphony for its 35 years of service to the City of Irvine. The Symphony’s service began with the orchestra’s first concert at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre during the summer of 1987. The summer concerts have continued since and are currently at Irvine’s FivePoint Amphitheatre.
The Mayor listed the creative contributions Pacific Symphony has made to the quality of life in the City of Irvine over the past 35 years. Those efforts included:
- Offering free Symphony in the Cities concerts at Irvine city parks as well as providing the Symphony on the Go! community concert series in Irvine; and
- Engaging middle and high school student musicians from the City of Irvine through the Pacific Symphony Youth Ensembles program and arts-X-press summer arts camp at Concordia University; and
- Establishing a partnership with Irvine Chinese School/South Coast Chinese Cultural Center, which together have presented eight years of Lantern Festivals, reaching tens of thousands of community members, and by offering multigenerational learning through parent-student orchestra called Strings for Generations; and
- Providing thousands of free tickets and bus transportation through its Heartstrings community service program, including Irvine-based agencies Alzheimer’s Association OC, Talk About Curing Autism (TACA), and Working Wardrobes; plus free tickets for Orange County veterans, military personnel, and first responders; and
- Providing musical concerts and enlightening experiences presented at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, including the Langston Hughes Project in Feb. 2022; and
- Relocating the Symphony’s administrative center to Irvine and serving as a cultural ambassador, representing the City of Irvine over the years at Carnegie Hall in New York, and on tours across Europe and China.
After enumerating the Symphony’s many initiatives benefiting the City of Irvine, Mayor Khan proclaimed June 28, 2022 as “Pacific Symphony Day” in celebration of 35 years of service to the City of Irvine, and to encourage all to recognize the contributions of Pacific Symphony in improving and enriching the community.
After the presentation, President and CEO of Pacific Symphony John Forsyte recognized the City Council and staff, as well as the Board of Directors of Pacific Symphony for their encouragement and support. In a typical year, the Symphony invests more than $250,000 in activities and initiatives that engage Irvine residents.
On Sunday, August 14 at Mike Ward Park, Pacific Symphony and Music Director Carl St.Clair will present a free, family-friendly Symphony in the Cities concert with educational activities commencing at 5:30 p.m. and the concert at 7:00 p.m. The concert is generously supported by the City of Irvine.