ABOUT US
Debuting in 2002, the 68-member Symphonic Jazz Orchestra (SJO) is a unique hybrid ensemble dedicated to blending the worlds of jazz and classical music. The ensemble has performed throughout Southern California at such venues as the Richard & Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Royce Hall (UCLA), Walt Disney Theater (CalArts) and Marsee Auditorium.
Soloists joining the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra have included Grammy Award winning performers including George Duke, Dave Grusin, Christian McBride, Raul Midon, Jane Monheit, Lee Ritenour, Chris Brubeck, Luciana Souza, Ernie Watts, The Yellowjackets and Miguel Zenon. The SJO’s acclaimed recording “Looking Forward, Looking Back” includes two commissioned works by George Duke and Lee Ritenour, along with George Gershwin’s classic “Rhapsody in Blue.” Hosted by SJO music director Mitch Glickman, the SJO’s radio series “Beyond Symphonic Jazz” on America’s #1 jazz station KJAZZ 88.1 FM, reaches an international audience each week. The orchestra’s commissioning program has resulted in eighteen newly commissioned works from both established and emerging composers from across the country.
STAFF
Mitch Glickman
Music Director and SJO Founder
Award-winning composer, conductor, and producer, Mitch Glickman's diverse music career covers the fields of concert, jazz, recordings, film, and opera. He is the founder and music director of the 68-member Symphonic Jazz Orchestra, and also serves as Director of Music Programs for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Glickman formerly served as Associate Music Director of the American Jazz Philharmonic, created by composer/conductor Jack Elliott. As a composer, Glickman's concert works have been commissioned and premiered by a wide range of leading American ensembles including the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra, American Jazz Philharmonic, Oberlin Orchestra, Turtle Island String Quartet, MENC, Third Wheel, and the Angel City Chorale. His choral, chamber and symphonic works have been performed in concert halls across the country including Royce Hall, Ford Amphitheater, Walt Disney Theater at CalArts, Cerritos Center for the Arts, and Broward County Performing Arts Center. His composition “Blues & Fuguette” was a winner of the American Composers Forum – Chamber Music competition. As an arranger, he has written such diverse singers and instrumentalists as Kurt Elling, Barry Manilow, Bud Shank, Jane Monheit, Luciana Souza, Leon Redbone, Raul Midón, Keyon Harrold, and Phil Perry. His film credits include scores for the acclaimed independent films “Street of Pain” starring Steve Carell, and “Proudheart" starring Lorrie Morgan, along with such notable television series as “Cheers,” “Life Goes On,” “Night Court,” “Grammy Living Legends” and the annual “Grammy Awards” telecast. Glickman has conducted numerous concerts across the country featuring legendary artists Ray Brown, Bud Shank, Turtle Island String Quartet, Phil Woods, and The Yellowjackets, and has led such diverse ensembles as the American Jazz Philharmonic, United Kingdom Symphony Orchestra and the South Florida Youth Orchestra. He also served as Assistant Musical Director of the New York Lyric Opera's production of Monteverdi's opera “Coronation of Poppea." Glickman has produced a number of Grammy nominated recordings including The Bud Shank Sextet Salutes Harold Arlen, Young Musicians Debut Orchestra with Lalo Schifrin, the American Jazz Philharmonic for GRP Records, as well as the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra for Mack Avenue Records featuring Christian McBride, Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin and Bill Cunliffe. He has produced over 1,200 concerts across the country in his 35+-year career ranging from a concert at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics to national concert tours featuring such artists as Ray Charles, Stan Getz, and Dionne Warwick, along with house concerts featuring George Duke, Al Jarreau, Dianne Reeves and Diane Schuur. Glickman produces and hosts the weekly radio series “Beyond Symphonic Jazz” heard on KJazz 88.1 FM. The 2-hour show has featured interviews with such jazz legends as Wayne Shorter, Pat Metheny, George Benson, Terri Lyne Carrington, Béla Fleck, Ramsey Lewis, Maria Schneider, Lalo Schifrin, Billy Cobham, Ian Anderson, Carla Bley, and Chick Corea. As an educator, he leads assemblies, master classes and workshops across the country, and was named the 2021 Jazz Educator of the Year by the L.A. Jazz Society. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and studied at the Schoenberg Institute in Vienna.
Rebecca Cardenas
SJO Education Team
Rebecca has worked with K-12 students in public elementary schools and non-profit programs in Los Angeles for the last 13 years. She earned her Master's Degree in Education as well as her Multiple Subject teaching credential from UCLA, during which she taught 5th grade Math and Science in East Los Angeles. She worked as a Program Manager for P.S.ARTS overseeing Teaching Artists in Visual, Music, Theater, and Dance programs in districts across Los Angeles. Her recent work includes Arts Integration coaching for classroom teachers, as well as instructional aide work in Special Education classrooms.
Lu Cien Hioe
SJO Education Team
Music has always played a big part in Lu Cien’s life. Having grown up in Asia, she feels lucky to have had the opportunity to learn to play the oboe in her school concert band, which gave her many experiences in competitions, including a trip to perform in New Zealand. Now based in Los Angeles, she uses her skills, honed from years in the film production industry, at SJO to get music education to more students, so they too can experience the joy of music.
Claire Bernson
Program Coordinator
Claire is a Connecticut native who settled in Los Angeles in 2017 and has loved it ever since. Claire has a background in arts & cultural event production, social media management, graphic design, and marketing. In addition to her work with SJO, she runs her own graphic design business, Good Design LA, and is actively involved in organizing and housing advocacy work in Northeast LA.
OUR BOARDS
Steven Bland
Anne Finestone
Kerri Glickman
Mitch Glickman
Jan Glusac
Jinko Gotoh
Vinita Khilnani
Christopher Kronick
Jill Lawrence
Joseph Lewczak
MUSIC ADVISORY BOARD
Billy Childs
John Clayton
Rashid Duke
Peter Erskine
Mitch Glickman
Christian McBride
Bob Mintzer
Ernie Watts
EMERITUS BOARD
Merle Kreibich
Dr. Peter Pelikan
Cindy Ruth
Steve Ruth
REMEMBERING GEORGE DUKE
George served as Co-Music Director of Symphonic Jazz Orchestra for nearly ten years, performing in concert with the orchestra, performing benefits, as well as composing a new work for the SJO, “Dark Wood: Duke Bass Concerto for McBride.”
Following his passing in 2013, the SJO set out to record his 22-minute epic concerto featuring bassist Christian McBride performing on upright, electric and fretless bass.
Music Director Mitch Glickman remembers, “George was so incredibly multi-faceted. Brilliant recording artist, gifted producer, outstanding composer/arranger – but what made him so unique is that his talents crossed so many genres. Most people don’t know about his Gershwin recording, or his orchestral work for the Montreux Jazz Festival “Muir Woods Suite” or his concerto written for Christian McBride and the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra.”
“There are so very few George Dukes in the world. An amazingly giving, warm, open, and positive person. Beyond his extraordinary talents was an even more extraordinary person. We have lost a very special soul.”
To learn more about George and his discography, please visit GeorgeDuke.com