Guild President PJ Wells presented a check for $10,000 to
LAS Association President Tim Barry at the concert on 4/13/24.

 
Symphony Notes Read the June 2024 edition of Symphony Notes (1.5MB pdf), the newsletter published by the Guild.

Garden Symphony Tour, May 2024
We want to extend a big thank you to all the wonderful garden and music enthusiasts who participated in our Garden Symphony Tour. Mother Nature had some unforeseen plans and provided rain for the first two hours of the May 4 tour, but she didn’t deter most people, who enjoyed seeing the beautiful gardens and being treated to live chamber music at most homes.
Many thanks to our very own LAS musicians who played despite the weather and to the homeowners who never lost their enthusiasm and welcomed an adoring public. Kudos to the hosts at the Harrington Garden, Newman Garden, Dennis Family Native Garden, Jefferson Garden, and Heidelberg Garden for their generosity and hospitality.
Contributions to this fundraiser are enriching local communities through the works of both the Livermore-Amador Symphony Guild and the Livermore-Amador Valley Garden Club, helping to fund two local, community-service, nonprofit groups with long histories of giving back to the Tri-Valley area.

January and April 2024 Meetings
The Guild’s annual winter and spring business meetings featured performances by five contestants from the LAS Competition for Young Musicians. Three of the students performed at January Gems and two more performed at the annual general meeting in April. Performing on the afternoon of January 21 at the Bothwell Arts Center in Livermore were Maggie Cai on violin, Jayden Chen on cello, and Ariel Pawlik-Zwiebel on violin. Performing on the evening of April 18 at the home of Tim and Claudia Barry in Livermore were pianist Hiroshi Corro on piano and Eileen Zhang on cello.

Soloist Hiroshi Corro at the April 2024 AGM

Eileen Zhang performing at the April 2024 AGM

(left to right:) LAS Music Director Lara Webber; soloists Ariel Pawlik-Zwiebel, Maggie Cai, and Jayden Chen; and LAS Guild President PJ Wells at January Gems 2024

Jayden Chen performing at January Gems 2024

Guild Board holiday lunch 12/20/23
 

LAS Concert 12/2/23 Ticket Sales Team … Santa’s Elves?

Volunteering with the Guild and Having Fun
Guild President PJ Wells invited the board to join her for a holiday lunch at Casa Orozco in Livermore in late December 2023. The idea was to have some fun and food and get to know each other better. As she put it, “While this is pay-your-own way, is the Symphony/Guild camaraderie not priceless?” Guild members may hear about a similar event in 2024!

Join the Guild!
Membership types: Active members ($20/year) participate in all Guild activities; Associate members ($35/year) participate in at least one activity; and Friends ($50/year) are informed about Guild activities but not required to help.

To join the Guild, send your contact info (name / address / phone(s) / e-mail) and a check payable to Livermore-Amador Symphony Guild or L.A.S.G. to the Treasurer, LAS Guild, 583 Bell Ave, Livermore CA 94550. Note any areas you’d be especially interested in helping with. Or print and fill out an application form and mail it in with your check.

Note: The application form is a pdf document; open it with Adobe Reader.

For more information, please email Guild President PJ Wells at pj.wells.ca@gmail.com or phone her at 925.245.0625.

Sipping for the Symphony Photos
This fundraiser was at Page Mill Winery, 1960 South Livermore Ave., in Livermore for three years, and on March 15, 2024, we had a Sipping event at Cuda Ridge Wines, 2400 Arroyo Road, Livermore. Sipping is organized by the Guild and has been supported by each winery. Guests enjoy musical entertainment, fine wines, delicious nibbles, and unique auction items. Usually two-thirds of the wine-tasting fees plus ten percent of all sales have gone to the LAS Guild.(The photos are from 9/23/21, 9/22/22, and 9/28/23.)

Past Guild treasurer Joan Dickinson (left)
and current treasurer Judy McMurry. 2023

LAS Conductor Lara Webber (left)
with Phil King and Linda Tinney. 2023

Musicians Brad Herbert (left) and Tim Barry,
LAS Assn. president. 2023

Wine to sip and good food to eat, too.
2022

LAS violin player Lana Hodzic (2nd from left)
and friends. 2021

A relaxing table scene during
Sipping with the Symphony. 2022

Linda Tinney, past Guild president,
and Carole Lince, event volunteer. 2021

Musicians Tim Barry (guitar/mandolin/voice)
and Brad Herbert (electric bass). 2022

Beth Wilson (flute) and Kate Fisher (cello),
one of two musical duos in 2021.

 
Purpose
The Guild is the highly dedicated support group and fund-raising branch of the symphony; it has been a (large, active!) auxiliary of the Symphony Association since 1963. Its purpose is to stimulate interest in the Livermore-Amador Symphony and to provide financial support. Membership is open to all who share this goal.

 
Meetings
The Guild meets four times a year (and its board meets about ten times a year); each meeting includes music and food in addition to a short business meeting. The first meeting each season is a prelude party in September, usually with a program by Valley Dance Theatre; other meetings are usually in January, April, and May.

Activities

The Guild’s activities are varied; for example, the Guild handles the annual season-ticket campaign of the Symphony, presents pops concerts, publishes a newsletter, and organizes estate sales. The Guild organizes “Sipping for the Symphony,” annual late afternoon / evening events at local wineries like Page Mill Winery and Cuda Ridge featuring music performed by LAS-related chamber groups. The Guild even raised several hundred dollars through Patxi’s Pizza in Livermore in 2018.

 
Bylaws
The current LAS Guild bylaws (89K pdf) went into effect on July 1, 2016.