Presenting the 80th Season, 2012-2013
American Classics
September 30, 2012
Arabesque
October 28, 2012
Teutonic Titans
February 10, 2013
A Symphonic Spectacular
May 5, 2013
Conductor Kimo Furumoto
The Rio Hondo Symphony
is one of the oldest
and most successful
community orchestras in
all of Southern California.
The Symphony
For 80 years, the Rio Hondo Symphony has thrilled Southern California audiences. Founded by Ruth Haroldson, a violin instructor at Whittier College, the orchestra has provided music, free of admission fees, to visitors from various communities. First called the Whittier Symphony, in 1964 the orchestra acknowledged the wider audience by renaming itself the Rio Hondo Symphony. Today the symphony is sponsored by Whitter, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, and by Rio Hondo College. It is also supported by hundreds of individuals and businesses.
The mission of the Rio Hondo Symphony Association is to enrich the cultural life of the community it serves, to expand the musical knowledge of youth and adults, and to provide an outlet for the talents of musicians in the greater Southern California area through the performance of symphonic music.
Four concerts are performed yearly at the Vic Lopez Auditorium at Whittier High School in Whittier.
Our Conductor Kimo Furumoto
Kimo Furumoto currently is in his fourth season as the Rio Hondo Symphony's Conductor and Music Director.
A dynamic and enthusiastic conductor, Furumoto is widely known for his innovative programing. For the last 11 years he has been the Conductor and Music Director of the Huntington Symphony Orchestra in West Virginia. Furumoto is an Associate Professor at Cal State Fullerton where he is Music Director of the University's orchestra and opera theater. During his career he has served as Assistant Conductor of the Lyric Mountain Festival for the Performong Arts and the Lexington Philharmonic.
Furumoto holds conducting degrees from Chapman University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. More...
Message from President Leighton Anderson
Welcome to our 80th season! We hope you will enjoy the season's concerts, lovingly planned by our delightful Conductor, Kimo Furumoto.
We thank those whose donations make this all possible: the members of the Rio Hondo Symphony Association. But now, more than ever, we urgently need the help of members and non-members alike. In our 80th year, we are facing tough times that threaten our ability to continue to provide these concerts.
To our members, we ask that you continue and, if possible, increase your support. If you are not a member, please become one of the hundreds of music lovers who want to ensure that classical music remains a part of our cultural heritage.
A wise man once wrote, "Music is to the soul what words are to the mind." We hope that our music will help fill your soul with joy and beauty. If so, please help us do the same for others. We need your help.
You may also follow the Rio Hondo Symphony on 
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