John Williams is the President of the Peninsula Symphony Association. He was born in Illinois north of Chicago and came to California at age 13. He attended USC and became a Navy submariner. He worked for Electra Manufacturing until 1988, and then worked for Morgan Stanley until his retirement in 2013.

 The Peninsula Symphony was founded in 1967. It has moved recently to the Redondo Union High School auditorium (from its previous venue at Rolling Hills Covenant Church). Free concerts are provided to the South Bay community, although the cost is $30,000 per concert, requiring private fund-raising. Peninsula Symphony members’ subscriptions provide one half of the orchestra’s income, with the remainder coming from private donations and fundraising events.

 

 

 Gary Berkson, the Peninsula Symphony’s Music Director & Conductor, grew up in Los Angeles and began playing the piano at the age of 4. He graduated from the Claremont Colleges in 3 years, majoring in conducting both orchestral and vocal music. After summer studies at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, he attended the Julliard School of Music in New York where he received a Master’s degree in conducting. He has been resident conductor of the Royal Swedish Ballet and Royal Swedish Opera and has conducted for a number of theatre companies in Europe and the United States. He has had the honor of conducting for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Great Britain, King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia of Sweden, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and the Presidents and Prime Ministers of many European countries. Gary Berkson was 1 of the 100 alumni featured in “Dance, Drama, Music: 100 Years of the Julliard School” published in celebration of its centenary.

 

 The Peninsula Symphony is an excellent community orchestra, with a Juilliard graduate as conductor. It provides opportunities for young musicians to have symphony orchestra experience and develop their talent. The Harmony Concert is a new annual event begun earlier this year, combining musicians from the two Palos Verdes high schools (burying their traditional crosstown rivalry). It was held at the Norris Center and was a great success as a fundraiser for both the 2 high school music departments and the Peninsula Symphony. (Next year’s Harmony Concert will be on St Patrick’s Day.)

 

 The annual Edith Knox Performance Competition is open to instrumentalists under the age of 25. They must perform a work for solo instrument and orchestra in its entirety from memory, with piano accompaniment. Winners attend scheduled rehearsals and appear in concert with the Symphony in June.

 

 The Peninsula Symphony Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles Harbor College is sponsored jointly by the Peninsula Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Harbor College, as a Harbor College Extended Education course.

 

 More information on the Peninsula Symphony’s performance schedule, young people’s programs, and membership information are available at http://www.pensym.org/.