For the past 51 years the
Culver City Symphony Orchestra
has been bringing classical
music to its residents and neighboring
communities.
“It has been a great place
for me to learn music and meet
other musicians,” President/
Executive Director of the Culver
City Symphony Orchestra Matthew
Hetz said. “I was invited to
the board of directors and later
became the president but I still
play in the orchestra.”
Hetz, a violinist who had been
with the orchestra for 25 years
and is in his ninth year as president,
began his music career at
the age of 23. Being part of the
orchestra has allowed him to
remain engaged with what he is
passionate about: music.
“I enjoy running the orchestra
and for me it also is about
the classical music,” Hetz said.
“Classical music is really low
on the radar in society. When I
first started, people who are now
deceased or in their 70s and 80s,
grew up in a different culture
where classical music was just
part of life.”
Unlike today’s music generation
where smart phones, tablets
and laptops provide for the music
desires of individuals, classical
music has taken a backseat as an
entertainment option with much
of the youth.
“You would see it (classical
music) on major networks; they
had classical music on all the
time,” Hetz said. “There was
more music education in schools
so people knew about classical
music but all that is now gone.”
Despite the difficulties
involved with running the
orchestra, from outside and
within the group, Hetz takes on
the challenges head on to ensure
that the music does not disappear.
Transitioning from musician
to president was no easy
task but it’s been nine years and
the orchestra continues going
strong.
“I need to make sure that
everything is working; I have
to make sure that we have
rehearsal space and that we
have somewhere to put up to
60 people in a room,” Hetz said.
That includes musical stands
and chairs. I have to make sure
people are on time and that we
raise money. So my involvement
changed dramatically because as
a musician you walk in, you play,
and you can leave.”
Getting the word out about
the orchestra is a challenge
on its own and includes tasks
such as: going to schools, letting
people know through word
of mouth, via local newspapers,
sending press releases about
concerts and even speaking
during city council meetings or
during a chamber of commerce
event.
“The strangest and the hardest
is that after 15 years people
still come to me and say, ‘I did
not know there was an orchestra
in Culver City,’” Hetz said. “We
also play in Marina Del Rey but
we change names but it is the
same orchestra, the same conductor,
the same board and so
forth. We play as the Marina Del
Rey Summer Symphony and that
is funded by the L.A. County and
Supervisor Don Knabe’s office.”
Orchestra members range
in age and they all bring a level
of quality music and ability that
contributes to the orchestra’s
reputation. In order to play for
the orchestra, the orchestra
manager must be contacted
in order to determine the possibility
of an audition. Once in
the orchestra, for each concert
there are three rehearsals, each
rehearsal lasting about two-anda-
half hours.
“Music my play has improved
and from that regard it (playing)
is easier but once you get
to a certain level, there is always
something else,” Hetz said. “You
are always searching and musicians
are always asking each
other how to play something
or to try something a little different.
It is always fascinating
because you are always searching.
Musicians are always looking
to do something different
and something new: it’s about
new horizons.”
Hetz believes that the music
experience is not just for the
musician but also for the audience,
which over the years has
changed.
“You have to go into a new
world where you just sit, turn off
your cellphones and that in itself
is difficult for younger people,”
Hetz said. “It is not a visual event
but it is about keeping an open
mind. Don’t expect to know
everything with one concert but
don’t be intimidated. If you don’t
know something; just ask. I try
to have program notes about
the work but also about the
composures.
“There is all this brain science
that music is innate: there is hunger,
language, sex and music and
we are wired for music,” Hetz
said. “You see a lot of senior citizen
at concerts because they are
being stimulated so they don’t
have to change. It is a different
experience. Do not worry if you
come in and your mind wanders.
It is a lot of music to take in at
once but do not be intimidated.”
