The San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra is throwing a 1920s-style casino night on October 17, and it's not just a party — it's the opening move in a multi-year countdown to the orchestra's 100th anniversary season in 2029. The gala kicks off at 5:30 p.m. at the San Bernardino Elks Lodge, 2055 Elks Drive, and organizers are framing it as the start of a years-long celebration tying the ensemble's roaring-twenties origins to its next century.
A Vintage Theme With a Modern Mission
According to the San Bernardino Sun, guests will arrive on a red carpet for photos beside a vintage 1920s luxury vehicle before heading into a champagne hour featuring a roving close-up magician performing tableside illusions. The evening continues with a buffet dinner and complimentary wine, live music from a jazz and pop instrumental combo, and charity-driven games of chance including roulette, craps and blackjack, the paper reports. Live and silent auctions round out the night's fundraising elements, per the same account.
Sonietta Martin Brown said the gala gives the community a way to celebrate the symphony's 1929 founding heritage while investing in the future of regional arts, according to the Sun's report. That framing lines up with the orchestra's own telling of its origins: the symphony was established in the fall of 1929 by 15-year-old James K. Guthrie, who later became publisher of The San Bernardino Sun, according to the San Bernardino Symphony. That places it among California's oldest professional orchestras, with its first concert performed in March 1930 under its original name, the Inland Empire Philharmonic Orchestra.
Funding Instruments, Lessons and Free Tickets
Gala proceeds will fund the symphony's Youth & Family Access and Outreach programs, which provide instruments, music education and free symphony concert tickets to students and families across the Inland Empire, the Sun notes. Those outreach efforts build on existing community programs, including the Music in the Schools program operated by the San Bernardino Symphony Guild, which sends docents to give live instrument demonstrations to students, according to the City of San Bernardino.
The symphony also runs two youth performance ensembles — the Overture Orchestra for grades 6-9 and the San Bernardino Symphony Youth Orchestra for grades 9-12 — offering annual tuition scholarships of up to $400 so young musicians can participate regardless of financial background, per the orchestra's own account. Separately, the James K. Guthrie Music Rental Library, established in 1994, offers discounted sheet music rentals to local schools, universities and regional ensembles, according to the City of San Bernardino.
Leadership Behind the Countdown
Music Director Anthony Parnther will announce the orchestra's 2027 season during the gala, according to a news release cited by the Sun. Parnther was appointed music director in May 2019 following a two-year international search, making him one of only a few Black conductors leading a professional American orchestra, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. He first conducted the symphony in October 2017.
Beyond San Bernardino, Parnther is a prolific Hollywood recording conductor whose film and media scoring credits include Oppenheimer, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Tenet and Sinners, along with live concerts for League of Legends, according to his own professional biography. He has also guest-conducted major ensembles nationwide, including the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Institutional Backing Supports the Push to 2029
The gala is just one piece of a broader financial picture. The symphony's permanent endowment includes a historic $2 million gift from the Paramo family, which generates roughly $100,000 annually for operating budgets and community education initiatives, as previously reported by Hoodline.
The symphony performs most of its season at the California Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown San Bernardino.
Tickets and information for the October 17 gala are available by calling 909-381-5388 or visiting sanbernardinosymphony.org/events, according to the Sun's report.
