SANTA MONICA · 2026–27 SEASON
Great music.
Fresh perspectives.
From the ideas of Plato to the imagination of Frank Zappa. Five programs that invite you to hear something differently.
Discover the season Meet Brian Stone, Music Director ↗
FIFTH SERIES
The 2026–27 season
Saturdays at 7pm
St. Paul’s Church
958 Lincoln Boulevard, Santa Monica
We are happy to present five bold, imaginative concerts this season. Each program is thoroughly prepared and presented with context and vitality to give our audience an enriching, aspirational experience.
NOV142026 · SATURDAY7:00 P.M.01 / FROM IDEAS TO MUSICFrom PhilosophyFeaturing Martin ChalifourSatie · Bernstein
One of the major foundational texts in Western thought, Plato’s Symposium, is the inspiration for these two extraordinary pieces of music.
Martin Chalifour, who was for thirty years the concertmaster of The Los Angeles Philharmonic, joins us as soloist in Leonard Bernstein’s fabulous Serenade after Plato’s Symposium for Violin and Chamber Orchestra. Erik Satie’s placid and beautiful Socrate gives verbal articulation to some of the very same ideas that motivated Bernstein. Sung in French by Brooke Iva-Lohmann, Emily Scott, Kimberly Poli, and Rachel Labovitch.
- Erik SatieSocrate
- Leonard BernsteinSerenade after Plato’s “Symposium”
Martin Chalifour, violin soloist
Brooke Iva-Lohmann, Emily Scott, Kimberly Poli, and Rachel Labovitch, vocalists
Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
St. Paul’s Church · 958 Lincoln Boulevard, Santa Monica
APR102027 · SATURDAY7:00 P.M.02 / STORIES IN SOUNDFrom FolkloreGlinka · Berio · Revueltas · Price · Kodály
Folk music from nine different countries in the old world and the new world are given brilliant treatments from Romantic Russia, The Mexican Renaissance, post-war America and 1930’s Hungary. Mezzo-soprano Meagan Martin will join to sing versions from the Italian Avant-Garde.
- Mikhail GlinkaKamarinskaya
- Luciano BerioFolk Songs
- Silvestre Revueltas8 x Radio
- Florence PriceSuite of Dances
- Zoltán KodályDances from Galánta
Meagan Martin, mezzo-soprano
Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
St. Paul’s Church · 958 Lincoln Boulevard, Santa Monica
JUN262027 · SATURDAY7:00 P.M.03 / A WORLD OF CONTRASTSFrom AustriaMozart · Schoenberg · Strauss · Mahler
This tiny, landlocked country was once a vast multi-cultural empire whose capital, Vienna, played a central role in the history of Western Music from the rise of classicism to the birth of modernism.
Santa Monica native and principal oboe of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Ryan Roberts will be featured in the Oboe Concerto by the eternal master of classicism, Mozart. Progenitor of modernism — and longtime Westside resident — Arnold Schoenberg will be represented by his thrilling and dramatic Chamber Symphony followed up by his version of a waltz by his beloved Viennese forebear, Johann Strauss. Our concert opens with Mahler’s romantic Blumine.
- Gustav MahlerBlumine
- Wolfgang Amadeus MozartOboe Concerto
- Arnold SchoenbergChamber Symphony No. 1
- Johann Strauss II / Arnold SchoenbergEmperor Waltz
Ryan Roberts, oboe
Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
St. Paul’s Church · 958 Lincoln Boulevard, Santa Monica
JUL312027 · SATURDAY7:00 P.M.04 / EXPECT THE UNEXPECTEDRuffling FeathersVarèse · Beethoven · Zappa · Schickele
Rattling the pots and pans.
Stirring the pot.
Making waves.
Rocking the boat.
These quirky outsiders had compelling voices and the talent and technique to express the full range of human emotions from subversive humor to political rage. And all in a unique and memorable way that still beguiles attention today.
- Edgard VarèseOctandre
- Ludwig van BeethovenGrosse Fuga
- Frank ZappaThe Perfect Stranger
- P.D.Q. Bach (Peter Schickele)The Unbegun Symphony
Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
St. Paul’s Church · 958 Lincoln Boulevard, Santa Monica
AUG282027 · SATURDAY7:00 P.M.05 / THE SEASON FINALEFrom Three CenturiesDvořák · Hindemith · Haydn
Three sections of the orchestra each play music from one of three centuries. The woodwinds give us Dvorak’s beautiful Serenade from the 19th Century. The 20th Century is represented by Paul Hindemith’s flashy and virtuosic Concertmusic for Strings and Brass. And from the 18th Century, the last section of the orchestra, percussion, joins everybody in the Drumroll Symphony (#103) by symphonic master Haydn.
- Antonín DvořákSerenade, Op. 44
- Paul HindemithConcertmusic for Strings and Brass
- Joseph HaydnSymphony No. 103, “Drumroll”
Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
St. Paul’s Church · 958 Lincoln Boulevard, Santa Monica
THE WESTSIDE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Come for a favorite.
Leave with a discovery.
Led by Music Director Brian Stone, the Westside Chamber Orchestra brings thoughtfully themed orchestral programs to Santa Monica.
Our 2026–27 season places familiar masterpieces alongside unexpected discoveries. Whether you know every work or are hearing an orchestra for the first time, there is a place for your curiosity here.
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OUR MUSIC DIRECTOR
Brian Stone
A Santa Monica beginning.
A life devoted to music.
Brian Stone brings an international career as a conductor and educator to his role as Music Director of the Westside Chamber Orchestra. His musical journey began in Santa Monica’s public schools, where he played saxophone before adding viola, piano, and composition.
He has conducted professional orchestras and opera in the United States and across Europe, including Romania, Germany, Hungary, and Bulgaria. His teaching and guest-conducting work has taken him to institutions including the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, Boston Conservatory, Stanford University, and the Claremont Colleges.
As director of the University of Delaware Orchestras, he expanded the orchestral program and its audiences, presenting repertoire that reached from Baroque and contemporary music to jazz, Broadway, and film.
A graduate of Bennington College, Stone earned both a master’s degree and a doctorate in conducting at the Peabody Conservatory, studying with Frederik Prausnitz and Gustav Meier. His training also included work with Otto-Werner Mueller and Gunther Schuller.
MAKE AN EVENING OF IT
See you
at the concert.
In the heart of Santa Monica
All five concerts take place at St. Paul’s Church, 958 Lincoln Boulevard, Santa Monica.
Join us on Saturdays at 7:00 p.m. Choose a concert above and follow its Eventbrite link for tickets.
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