Patrons jumped to a standing ovation at the final flourish of the organ symphony by French composer Saint Saens. Conducted with impeccable musicality and authority by the Monterey Symphony's artistic leader Max Bragado-Darman, the famous masterwork crowned the first program of the orchestra's 2011-2012 season.

For many classical music lovers, the opening concert of the symphony season generated the excitement and anticipation of a homecoming.

The Monterey Symphony entered its 66th season this fall. It has grown — from a small ensemble of players who met regularly to practice together and put on community concerts into a fully professional orchestra supported by a large board, a staff and an active core of volunteers.

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addition to the musicians, all excellent instrumentalists from around the state, the orchestra features superb guest artists throughout the season. Holiday concerts, youth concerts and activities, as well as numerous enticing fundraising events, also attract music lovers.

The symphony's new executive director, Edmund Feingold, who takes over administratively at a time of budgetary constraints, sadly has eliminated the symphony's chorus along with other cutbacks. But he serves an organization with a superb musical product and a history of continually growth.

The symphony's foundations go back to the days of old Carmel. The orchestra is the youngest of the three pillars of classical music created by Carmel's extraordinary early

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impresarios: Dene Denny and Hazel Watrous. The two women were apparently involved in all aspect of Carmel's cultural and artistic life but it was in music that they excelled.

In December 1927, the first of these music organizations presented a "historymaking" concert that attracted a large audience to the Golden Bough Theater eager to hear one of the finest quartets of the day. Thus was born the Carmel Music Society, the oldest nonprofit music society in California, which still presents many

of the world's top classical artists.

Some years later the two women founded the Carmel Bach Festival, respected internationally for its world-class musicianship and joyful appreciation the great composer and his legacy. Naturally, Denny and Watrous also put forth the idea of a resident orchestra for the region. In the late '30s and '40s, such an ensemble of musicians was formed. It disbanded during the years of the Second World War but regrouped in 1947, under the directorship of local music personality Leon Minear. It was originally called the Carmel Regional Symphony, chartered for performances on the Monterey Peninsula and Salinas.

Over the decades, the orchestra has evolved and expanded under a succession of music directors, including Bragado's immediate predecessors Haymo Tauber, Clark Suttle and Kate Tamarkin.

Bragado — a frequent guest conductor for the Monterey Symphony before taking over as music director in 2004 — comes to the region as a well-established and critically acclaimed conductor with an international reputation.

Last year, Bragado signed a new five-year contract extending his tenure as the orchestra's music director. In addition to his dedication to delivering to his audiences the best results the orchestra can achieve, he is passionately committed to music education and to developing new audiences for the symphony.

The Monterey Symphony's subscription takes place in Salinas at the Steinbeck Institute of Art and Culture with an open rehearsal on Saturdays at 2 p.m. followed by a performance at 7 p.m. At Carmel's Sunset Center concerts are performed Sundays at 3 p.m. and Mondays at 8 p.m.

While there are no December concerts this year, January's program will feature guest conductor Alvaro Cassuto along with violinist Michael Ludwig in a program of music inspired by gypsies, flamenco and tango with an excursion to the Rhine for Schumann's Rhenisch Symphony.

Music of Ravel, Berlioz and Rimsky- Korsakov will be featured on February's program. March brings music with a Scotland theme and in April works of Tchaikovsky, Smetana, Faure, Kodály and Enescu will be played by the orchestra.

For additional information call 646-8511 or visit www.montereysymphony.org.