Music Director Alan Gilbert will lead the nation’s preeminent symphony orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, in an all-American program. The performance includes Aaron Copland’s epic masterpiece Appalachian Spring, with its inspiring Shaker melody, “’Tis the Gift to be Simple,” and Leonard Bernstein’s beloved West Side Story with soprano Julia Bullock and tenor Benjamin Bliss.

The Music Academy’s partnership with the New York Philharmonic has been made possible through the generosity of Lead Sponsors Linda and Michael Keston. Supporting Sponsors include the Michael J. Connell Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. The New York Philharmonic Concert Sponsor is the John C. Bowen and Shelby C. Bowen Charitable Foundation, presented with special appreciation to the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation. New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert is a 2015 Music Academy Luria Foundation Artist in Residence. The Music Academy proudly thanks the following sponsors of the 2015 Community Access tickets and 7-17s Free initiative: Northern Trust, Eve Bernstein, and the Willfong-Singh family in memory of Alice and Donald Willfong.