San Bernardino Symphony Announces Maestro Carlo Ponti stepping down following conclusion of 2011-12 season.

After 11 years at the helm of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Carlo Ponti has announced he will be stepping down as music director at the end of the 2011-12 Season.
According to the orchestra’s board president Mary Schnepp, “During his tenure with the SBSO Carlo has brought a dedicated intensity to his role as music director and conductor. Furthermore, he brought the orchestra to unprecedented levels of artistic achievement and financial stability and under his leadership donations and subscriptions rose to unprecedented levels. Maestro Ponti’s presence was also instrumental in furthering the San Bernardino Symphony’s education programs, establishing an endowment fund and expanding and diversifying the orchestra’s audience base. He will be missed and we are deeply grateful that through his compelling work he contributed to maintain the orchestra’s artistic and financial vigor unscathed, even through a trying period of economic recession.”
Said Maestro Ponti, “The San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra, its musicians, board members and staff will always hold a special place in my heart. I am proud of the music we made together and of the impact our collaboration had on this very special community. It has been a privilege for me to serve as the San Bernardino Symphony’s music director and principal conductor for eleven exciting seasons and I wish this wonderful Orchestra and its dedicated supporters the brightest of futures.”
Maestro Ponti will lead the San Bernardino Symphony in its season finale concert, Tchaikovsky’s Finest, featuring Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony, and classical guitarist David Cahueque playing Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez on Saturday evening, May 19th at 8:00 pm at the California Theatre of the Performing Arts, 562 W. 4th Street in San Bernardino. The evening will include a reception celebrating Maestro Ponti’s final performance in San Bernardino.
Tickets start at $20 ($10 for students and those with military IDs) and may be purchased by calling the San Bernardino Symphony at 909/381-5388 or ordering online at www.sanbernardinosymphony.org.
An announcement regarding Maestro Ponti’s successor, as well as programming plans for the 2012-13 concert season, will be made by the end of April. Explained Schnepp, “Plans for the Symphony’s 2012-13 season are well underway and we will move ahead seamlessly with a wonderful line-up of concert programming. Entitled Musical Destinations, the new concert season promises a series of breathtaking musical journeys, and immense enjoyment for our audiences.” For more information or to request a season brochure, please call the San Bernardino Symphony at 909/381-5388.