Thousand Oaks Philharmonic

The Thousand Oaks Philharmonic, formerly known as Concertos with Orchestra Thousand Oaks (CWOTO), was founded in December of 2000 as a California registered non-profit educational organization, with its foremost purpose being to provide exceptional piano students in the area with an opportunity to be featured as soloists with a professional orchestra. Because of the resounding success of the first concert, the community interest, and a desire to give as many students as possible this remarkable opportunity, other instrumentalists, as well as pianists, were invited to solo in subsequent concerts.

When formed by Edward Francis, Thousand Oaks Philharmonic was an idea and a dream which would bring opportunities to exceptional students and other members of the local community. In order to do this, a performing group had to be available, so the orchestra was developed (formerly referred to as the Conejo Concerto Orchestra or CCO). The accompanying orchestra is made up of professional musicians from around the Southland and is currently conducted by exceptionally talented guest conductors. The orchestra was formerly conducted by the late Dr. Thomas Osborn

The Ventura County area is rich in talent, with an unusually high concentration of young artist-level musicians living in our midst. Perhaps it is no coincidence that our schools graduate some of the highest-ranking and well-prepared students in the state, and their level of achievement in other fields naturally mirrors those results.

There is no secret to the success of a performing artist. Of course, raw talent and natural ability play an important role. However, nothing substitutes for the discipline of practice, professional study, and parental support. If chance allows the combination all these essential elements, in the right doses, the product can be quite stunning. In addition to providing students with this wonderful opportunity, the community also benefits by attending thrilling performances, which can be quite memorable and especially influential to the younger members of the audience.

In music study, there can be fewer wonderful experiences than being the featured soloist with an orchestra. While there are some possible current opportunities to do this, and the ones that exist are important and quite exciting, the number of opportunities is limited. It is the expressed hope of the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic to enhance these opportunities for our Conejo Valley students considerably.