UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra

As the year comes to a close, we’re grateful to have ended our season with Shuying Li’s The Phoenix Ascends and Mahler’s Symphony No. 3. Thank you to everyone who joined us for these performances, and for your continued support of UCBSO throughout the year. We couldn’t do this without you!

Special thanks to Liza Davitaia for the photos.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our benefit event this weekend! We were thrilled to present performances by a horn quartet, string quartet, and the Mariachi Luz de Oro . Guests also enjoyed music throughout the afternoon from a violin duet and a cello quartet featuring members of .

Your support helps us continue creating meaningful musical experiences for our students and community. Please consider donating to UCBSO through the link in our bio.

Special thanks to Grant Kerber for taking pictures!

Save the dates!

Saturday, May 2nd 8pm
Jimmy López - Fiesta!
Copland - Appalachian Spring
Saint-Saëns - Symphony No. 3 “Organ”

Friday & Saturday, May 8-9 8pm
Shuying Li - The Phoenix Ascends
Mahler - Symphony No. 3

On Saturday, May 2nd, the UC Berkeley Philharmonia Orchestra closes its season with two beloved works: Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland and Symphony No. 3 (Organ) by Camille Saint-Saëns. Co-conducted by Noam Elisha and Wei Cheng, the program moves from Copland’s open, luminous Americana—clear lines, spacious harmonies, and dance-like energy—to Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3, where the orchestra is joined by the organ for a sonorous, expansive finale. Together, these pieces offer an evening of rich orchestral color, unforgettable melodies, and a thrilling symphonic finish.
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Program:
Jimmy López - Fiesta!
Copland - Appalachian Spring
Saint-Saëns - Symphony No. 3
Noam Elisha and Wei Cheng, conductors
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Saturday, May 2nd, 8pm
Join us at Saturday’s post-concert reception to meet some members of our orchestra!
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Ticket Pricing:
$16 General Admission
$12 Seniors / Non-UCB Students / Staff
$5 UCB Students ($10 at the door with cash)
Buy tickets in advance through the link in our bio!

Shuying Li’s The Phoenix Ascends opens our program in a blaze of color and motion, conjuring a mythical bird rising triumphantly into the sky. Vivid and expansive, the work suggests transformation, renewal, and radiant strength. It serves as a beautiful prelude to Mahler’s Third Symphony, a work he conceived on an all-encompassing scale. Over six movements, Mahler 3 unfolds from primordial rumblings into birdsong, folk-like dances, and luminous choral writing—an arc that suggests creation itself. Scored for a massive orchestra, a women’s chorus, and a boys’ choir, the symphony culminates in music of profound, spiritual love. Don’t miss the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra’s performances on Friday, May 8th, and Saturday, May 9th!
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Program:
Shuying Li, The Phoenix Ascends
Mahler, Symphony No. 3
David Milnes, conductor
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Friday, May 8th, 8pm
Saturday, May 9th, 8pm
Join us at Saturday’s post-concert reception to meet some members of our orchestra!
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Ticket Pricing:
$30 General Admission
$20 Seniors / Non-UCB Students / Staff
$5 UCB Students ($10 at the door with cash)
Buy tickets in advance through the link in our bio!

What a weekend our concerts were, as UCBSO took on a thrilling program featuring Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante with cello soloist Sarah Kave, Keiko Abe’s Prism Rhapsody with marimba soloist Erin Lin, and Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel. Thank you to everyone who attended our concert, and to everyone who has supported us!

Special thanks to Liza Davitaia for the photos!

Save these dates of our upcoming concerts!

Chamber Chorus, University Chorus, and UCBSO
Friday & Saturday April 3-4, 8pm
Verdi Requiem

UCBPO, Saturday May 2, 8pm
Lopez, Copland, Saint-Saëns

UCBSO, Friday & Saturday May 8-9, 8pm
Mahler Symphony No. 3

UCBSO opens 2026 by diving into two defining 20th-century works: Edgard Varèse’s Amériques and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 (“Leningrad”). Driven by a gargantuan orchestra and an especially massive percussion section, Varèse’s Amériques unleashes a huge, kaleidoscopic sound-world that is both exhilarating and unsettling. After intermission comes Shostakovich’s Seventh, a vast and relentless symphony forged in the shadow of war: urgent, defiant, and ultimately overwhelming in scale.

Striking color, unstoppable momentum, and full-scale orchestral power. This is a program you won’t want to miss!
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Program:
Varèse - Amériques
Shostakovich - Symphony No. 7
David Milnes, conductor
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Friday, Feb 20th, 8pm
Saturday, Feb 21st, 8pm
Join us at Saturday’s post-concert reception to meet some members of our orchestra!
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Ticket Pricing:
$30 General Admission
$20 Seniors / Non-UCB Students / Staff
$5 UCB Students ($10 at the door with cash)
Buy tickets in advance through the link in our bio!

Poster design: .im.irene

UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, February 20, 2026 8:00PM | Ticket Office @ Zellerbach Hall