The Symphonic Jazz Orchestra Blog

I wanted to take a moment to celebrate the debut of the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra, which was 20 years ago today. Twenty years into this journey, we have commissioned and premiered over 20 new [...]

Supported by grants from local foundations and individual donors, the SJO was so excited to start our newest partner school, Roosevelt Elementary School in Long Beach Unified School District, [...]

After consideration amidst the surge in Covid-19 cases, the SJO has decided to postpone its March 13th 20th Anniversary Celebration Concert at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. We [...]

The Symphonic Jazz Orchestra celebrates its 20th Anniversary with a Gala Concert on Sunday, March 13, 2022 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. The 68-member ensemble, [...]

The ASCAP Foundation and the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra are pleased to announce Christopher Zuar as the recipient of the 7th Annual ASCAP Foundation/Symphonic Jazz Orchestra Commissioning [...]

With the continuing success of its Commissioning Prize competition honoring former Symphonic Jazz Orchestra (SJO) Co-Music Director and ASCAP board member, George Duke, the SJO is proud to [...]

Make a donation to the SJO by May 7, 2021 and you could win a 30-minute virtual one-on-one session with GRAMMY award winning jazz pianist and composer Billy Childs. We’re thrilled to [...]

While we may not be able to gather in-person for concerts right now, the SJO has launched its new YouTube channel where you can watch concert video samplers from our past concerts and family [...]

The ASCAP Foundation and the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra are pleased to announce Jihye Lee as the recipient of the 6th Annual ASCAP Foundation/Symphonic Jazz Orchestra Commissioning [...]

We’re so grateful to Daniel Szabo for waking up pre-dawn for a wonderful and wide ranging discussion with SJO Music Director Mitch Glickman about everything from his musical influences and [...]