1945-1968: The Orchestra's foundation The San Fernando Valley Symphony was co-founded by Ilmari Ronka and his wife, Loraine Vera Ronka nee Aalbu in 1946. Their first season was in the same year and the orchestra was made up of mostly studio musicians. Ilmari had previously been first-chair trombone for the
NBC Symphony Orchestra and Loraine had traveled as part of the vaudeville group The Four Albee Sisters. Together, they moved to California and co-founded the Orchestra in 1945. James Swift was another conductor who led the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra. He took it on as a way to pursue his love of music and performance, having begun working at Lockheed in Southern California due to World War II. From a musical family in Minnesota, Swift studied multiple instruments, bringing his experience in violin, viola, saxophone, trombone, and eventually conducting to his musical career. At this time, it was a group of like-minded musicians who wanted to share music with the local communities in the growing San Fernando Valley. Swift was dedicated to providing music and opportunities to local musicians regardless of skill-level. Under his guidance, the Orchestra offered free performances that showcased local composers while working on building up community connections.
1968: The Orchestra and Bernstein Swift's time with the orchestra came to a close after years of growth inspired leadership to try to become a professional group for the Valley region. The Orchestra searched for a conductor that would galvanize them into a strong, professional orchestra that could be considered on par with the other major regional orchestras. Their search led them to noted Hollywood film composer and arranger,
Elmer Bernstein. Known for his compositions and arrangements for such movies as
The Ten Commandments (1956),
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962),
The Blues Brothers (1980), and
Ghostbusters (1984), among others, Bernstein was a definite shift away from a small community group. He led concerts with some of his compositions alongside other major classical pieces and local artists. To this day, many of his works are still held in the Orchestra's library as some of his own scores were part of orchestra concert programming. The orchestra grew under his leadership, even though he was only conductor for one season. His reputation and the caliber of his compositions left an impact on the orchestra.
1968-1990: Johnson - Bringing Good Music to the People of the Valley After Bernstein, the Orchestra went through multiple conductors and venue changes before closing suddenly in the middle of their 1984 concert season. However, there were still some hopeful orchestra community members working to keep the Orchestra alive. In 1985, the Orchestra hired Lois Johnson to be conductor. At 27 years old, Johnson was one of the only female conductors in the region and saw the opportunity to help revive the orchestra as a way of achieving her dream of conducting. She had studied at the
Manhattan School of Music and studied conducting privately with
Charles Bruck at the Pierre Monteaux School of Conducting in New York. Her husband, William Johnson, supported her in the endeavor. As a lawyer specializing in Japanese business and investments, he worked to help the orchestra make new connections with investors, including a bold call to the Chevron Corporation. Johnson remained Music Director and Conductor of the Orchestra until her departure in 1990.
1990-present: James Domine revives the orchestra The Orchestra was dormant for two years after Johnson's departure and James Elza Domine was in the right room, at the right time. Domine was Conductor of the Van Nuys Civic Orchestra Association, another organization established in 1982 with a similar purpose: sharing free of charge concerts to the San Fernando Valley area while presenting musicians and composers a place to gather and play in an ensemble. Some Orchestra supporters and fellow musicians reached out to him and within a few years, the San Fernando Valley Symphony name, music library, and memories were received and reincorporated by Domine. In 1992, the Orchestra returned with Domine as Conductor. The name was reaffirmed after it was discovered that there were some similarly named organizations in the area. Swift had created another orchestra in 1968, the Los Angeles Solo Repertory Orchestra, who renamed themselves as the New Valley Symphony in 1996. The
Valley Symphony Orchestra (Los Angeles), a mixed student and professional group, performed at nearby Valley College. They continued to have concerts until the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered many businesses and cancelled planned programming. They provided digital musical media where they could until they were able to schedule in-person events once more, finding a home at the
El Portal Theater. The Orchestra was able to continue providing concerts after the pandemic lockdowns and restrictions were lifted. Concert seasons provide with six concerts per year, including holiday programming and collaboration events with local artists, composers, and upcoming soloists. ==Performance venues==