\ud83c\udfad NEW! Los Angeles Theatre Newsletter<\/p>\n
The Long Beach Symphony presented its annual\u00a0Youth Concerts\u00a0at the Long Beach Terrace Theater on\u00a0January 28 and 29, 2026, welcoming more than\u00a012,000 fourth- and fifth-grade students\u00a0from across Long Beach.<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfad NEW! Los Angeles Theatre Newsletter<\/p>\n
Conducted by\u00a0Music Director Eckart Preu, the four concerts brought live choral and orchestral music to students from\u00a053 LBUSD elementary schools, as well as participating private, Catholic, charter, and home schools.<\/p>\n
The concerts also featured the\u00a0LBUSD All-District High School Honor Choir, comprised of 150 outstanding students, creating an educational experience that connected choral students with\u00a044 Long Beach Symphony musicians.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2025, the\u00a0Linda L. Gunn Music Education Fund, and\u00a0Linda L. Gunn, philanthropist and business owner of\u00a0Gunn\/Jerkens Marketing & Advertising, pledged $210,000 to fund the annual Youth Concerts through the 2027 season. This support ensures that this pillar of the education department will serve another 12,000 elementary students next year, a continuation of a tradition that has been bringing music to young students for over four decades.<\/p>\n
Presented in partnership with the\u00a0LBUSD Visual & Performing Arts Department, the Youth Concerts were coordinated by\u00a0Christine Whipp, VAPA Coordinator, and\u00a0Renee Bhatia, Music Education Curriculum Coach, with the support of the\u00a0LBUSD Board of Education. Special acknowledgement to\u00a0LBUSD\u00a0and its\u00a0Transportation department\u00a0for ensuring the students’ safety and attendance. Underwriting support also provided by\u00a0Valero Energy Company\u00a0and\u00a0Ms. Ethel Sanford. More than 40 Long Beach Symphony\u00a0Ovation Volunteers\u00a0ushered and assisted throughout the two-day event.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThese concerts represent the very heart of our mission,\u201d\u00a0said Kelly Ruggirello, President of Long Beach Symphony.\u00a0\u201cThey show students that music is not something distant or abstract\u2014it is alive, collaborative, relevant, and something they can be part of now, and well into adulthood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Founded in 1934, the Long Beach Symphony has partnered with LBUSD in curriculum-based youth concerts since 1985, marking 41 years of sustained collaboration. Over the past four decades, its music education programs have served\u00a0more than one million children\u00a0in Long Beach and surrounding communities.<\/p>\n
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