Stockton is about to celebrate a musical milestone a century in the making.
The Stockton Symphony will officially open its Centennial Season with its 100th Birthday Bash on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 6 p.m. at Atherton Auditorium, 5151 Pacific Avenue in Stockton. The concert will celebrate 100 years of music in the Central Valley with a program built around American classics, poetry, a world premiere and a hometown connection to one of jazz music's legendary families.
Founded in 1926, the Stockton Symphony began with a small group of musicians led by Manlio Silva, an Italian immigrant and pharmacist whose passion for music helped launch what would become one of California's longest-running orchestras. Today, the Stockton Symphony is recognized as California's third-oldest continuously operating symphony orchestra, making the 2026-27 season a remarkable chapter in Stockton's cultural history.
A Birthday Celebration With a Stockton Connection
Music Director and Conductor Peter Jaffe will lead the orchestra through a program designed specifically for the centennial celebration.
The evening will open with Jaffe's own Symphonic Birthday, followed by George Gershwin's An American in Paris. Later, acclaimed pianist Jon Nakamatsu, a Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medal winner, will join the orchestra for Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
Stockton poet Tama Brisbane will also contribute a commemorative poem written for the occasion, bringing a distinctly local voice to the celebration.
One of the most anticipated moments of the evening will be the world premiere of Chris Brubeck's Rhythms of the Range, which incorporates the recorded voice of his father, jazz legend Dave Brubeck.
That connection makes the premiere especially meaningful in Stockton. Brubeck's relationship with the city and University of the Pacific has long made his musical legacy part of the region's cultural story.
From a Little Symphony to a Century of Music
The Stockton Symphony traces its earliest roots to brothers Manlio and Tulio Silva, who immigrated from Italy and eventually settled in Stockton. Manlio gathered a small ensemble known as the Little Symphony, and in May 1926 conducted the first performance of the newly formed Stockton Symphony.
What began with a handful of local musicians eventually grew into a professional orchestra that has performed through generations of change.
According to the Symphony's centennial history, the orchestra continued performing even through the world wars and has evolved from an organization working with handwritten music into one capable of presenting major symphonic works and world premieres.
That longevity makes the September 12 concert more than an opening night.
It is a celebration of the musicians, conductors, volunteers, donors, families and audiences who have kept live orchestral music part of Stockton for an entire century.
A Centennial Season Just Getting Started
The Birthday Bash is only the beginning of a full year of anniversary programming.
The Stockton Symphony's 2026-27 Centennial Season will continue with special performances throughout the year, including holiday concerts, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and a Mother's Day finale celebrating music from across the past century.
The organization is also using the anniversary to highlight its long-running music education efforts, which have introduced thousands of students to live orchestral music over the years.
Event Details
What: Stockton Symphony 100th Birthday Bash
When: Saturday, September 12, 2026
Time: 6 p.m.
Where: Atherton Auditorium, 5151 Pacific Avenue, Stockton
Music Director and Conductor: Peter Jaffe
Featured Pianist: Jon Nakamatsu
Featured Poet: Tama Brisbane
Program Highlights: Symphonic Birthday, An American in Paris, world premiere of Rhythms of the Range, and Rhapsody in Blue
Tickets: Available now through the Stockton Symphony
Purchase Tickets: Buy tickets for the 100th Birthday Bash
A hundred years ago, the Stockton Symphony began with a small group of musicians and a belief that live music belonged in this community.
On September 12, the orchestra will celebrate how far that idea has traveled, with Gershwin, Brubeck, poetry and a packed auditorium marking the beginning of its next century.