Santa Ana : Pacific Symphony Moves Into Historic Building

The Orange County Pacific Symphony --its conductor hailing “the largest contribution to a performing arts organization in the history of Orange County”--officially moved rent-free into a historic Santa Ana building Wednesday.

Among the dozens on hand for the event was Mayor Daniel E. Griset, who presented the orchestra’s leaders with a key to the city. “Classic music comes to a classic building,” Griset said, referring to the structure, which is part of a 99-building district that was recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The nonprofit symphony, which just completed its sixth season as a full-fledged orchestra based in Fullerton, will occupy Templo Calvario at 115 E. Santa Ana Blvd., built in 1911 as the First Presbyterian Church.

Artistic director Keith Clark said that Santa Ana’s contribution of 20-years’ rent for the building will “over the course of 20 years be in the millions of dollars.”

For its part, the orchestra “will attempt to make this a real hub for artistic activity by inviting other artistic groups to locate their offices and hold rehearsals here,” Clark said. The Pacific Symphony also plans to provide space for local composers and other artists in the three-story building’s “veritable beehive of offices and rooms,” he said. One room will become a library and listening room, and the orchestra has just received a donation of 400 record albums for the library, he added.

The orchestra also will initiate after-school and Saturday lessons for young people, to be taught by some of the group’s 85 musicians.