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# Symphony reaches a Crossroads, touting 60 years BY D’LYNN WALDRON
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/symphony-reaches-a-crossroads-touting-60-years-by-dlynn-waldron/
- Published: 2004-11-20T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:38:23.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Special to the Daily Press*

A decades-old tradition of music will be saluted next month, led by internationally known musicians, along with local students.

The Santa Monica Symphony will be joined by the Crossroads School Chamber Orchestra and Santa Monica’s acclaimed baritone Jubilant Sykes in a free Salute to the Community concert on Sunday, Dec. 12, at 7:30 p.m., to celebrate the Symphony’s 60th Anniversary.

Under the baton of music director and conductor Allen Robert Gross, the Santa Monica Symphony will open the program with a new piece, “Momentum” by Chen Yi, which depicts the thunderous power of a volcano and captures the sweeping dynamism of Chinese calligraphy with themes from traditional Chinese music.

The Santa Monica Crossroads School Chamber Orchestra under its director Alexander Treger will play Tchaikovsky’s melodic “Souvenir of Florence.”

The thrilling baritone and internationally acclaimed singer, Santa Monica’s own Jubilant Sykes, will sing a selection of traditional American songs and spirituals.

The Crossroads Chamber Orchestra will join the Santa Monica Symphony in playing Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony.

Maestro Gross said the symphony is proud of being in a city with a fine musical tradition in its schools.

The Crossroads Chamber Orchestra is the performance group for the Elizabeth Mandell Music Institute of Crossroads School. The orchestra was started the 1980s and has conductors like Heiichiro Ohyama and Alexander Treger, both acclaimed string players who have become internationally recognized. Treger also is the conductor of the American Youth Symphony.

The concert will be held in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium at 1855 Main St. A popular pre-concert talk by Raymond Knapp will be held in the meeting room at 6:45 p.m. Continuing a 60-year tradition, admission is free to the concerts of the Santa Monica Symphony. Parking in the city’s Civic Auditorium lot is $8.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/112004-04_01.jpg)

(Photo: Tony Verebes/Special)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 20, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/112004.pdf?ref=smdp.com)