Fall 2025

C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 5 129 In addition to its many concerts at the Sunset Center in Carmel, the Monterey Symphony will perform its “Love Letter to Paris” at Carmel’s Outdoor Forest Theater and, for students from all around Monterey County, at Sherwood Hall in Salinas. sibility to our public.” Monterey Symphony is deeply committed to bringing musical instruc- tion to children. “We bring the music to the kids, and work with local music teachers to enhance what their schools can’t provide.” Perhaps that type of outreach accounts for the interest of younger audiences. The symphony is comprised of 75 tenured musicians. The profes- sional life of an orchestral musician is rarely limited to one organiza- tion, and the symphony must main- tain a list of players that can be slot- ted in.“Our substitute violinist list is more than 200 names long,” Reilly adds. But these are true pros, and the performances are always top tier. Reilly has been with the symphony since 2016. “Going into our 80th year is exciting,” she says, “and we have some fun and interest- ing things scheduled to celebrate.” The sea- son kicks off September 16 and 17 at the Outdoor Forest Thea-ter with “Love Letter to Paris,” featuring “Can Can” from “Orpheus in the Underworld” by Jacques Offenbach, George Gershwin’s “Am-erican in Paris” and “La Vie en rose,” made famous by the iconic Edith Piaf. Concer ts celebrating the music of Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Bruckner, Schubert and Haydn, among others, are also on the schedule. Opening the full Symphony sched- ule October 18 is Saxophone Concerto + Rachmaninoff Sym- phony No. 2 followed by the world premiere of “Anemology” by Grammy-winning composer Ste- ven Mackey, who began his musi- cal journey as a rock guitarist. The pro- gram features saxophonist Timothy McAllister (playfully named the “World’s Greatest Living Classical Saxophone Player”). Reilly says, “Those two are some of the most fun classical music dudes to hang out with.”