About Us

The mission of Berkeley Symphony is to perform symphonic music that engages the intellect, sparks the curiosity, and delights the spirit of our unique community.

Known as “the Bay Area’s most adventurous orchestra” (Contra Costa Times), Berkeley Symphony has developed a distinctive brand of programming that includes 20th century scores by composers ranging from Olivier Messiaen to Frank Zappa, to revealing performances of the standard orchestral repertoire, to the most intriguing composers of our time.

The Orchestra currently performs four main concerts a year at Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley campus, and it has been a recipient of the ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming in eight out of the last ten years. It also supports local composers through its Under Construction New Music Reading Series. A community leader in music education, Berkeley Symphony runs a year-long, award-winning Music in the Schools program, providing 4,000 local students performance experience each year.