After bringing professional orchestral concerts to the Coachella Valley for almost 40 years, The Desert Symphony will not present a 2026-2027 season.
Since 1989, the nonprofit has been enriching the desert’s appreciation for symphonic music with performances by world-class vocalists and outstanding chamber musicians. Beyond concerts and recitals, the organization has hosted annual fundraising galas to fund the program, awarded scholarships and instruments to local music students, and provided free performances at schools.
The following message was recently posted on the organization’s website: “We are writing with a heavy heart to let you know that, due to a lack of funding for the arts and the overall economic conditions, The Desert Symphony will not present concerts this season. We understand how much our music meant to our community and how much you meant to us—and this decision was not made lightly.”
The decision comes less than a year after the symphony moved their concerts to The Show at Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage.
“The attendance for our concerts has been dwindling in the last couple of years, and we had to make our move over to the casino this last year, and a lot of our patrons did not want to go to the casino for one reason or another,” said executive director Debbie Shapiro. “We kind of planned on that, but we really thought we were going to get a lot of the younger crowd in, and it just didn’t happen. When you don’t teach symphonic music in the schools, who’s going to want to see a symphonic music concert? I know the other symphonies are struggling.”
Costs have increased in recent years, and while The Desert Symphony has a great financial support system, Shapiro said, paying all of the necessary expenses became too difficult.
“It was a big decision, and we have fabulous donors who have been with us for the 37 years we’ve been around, and it was just, ‘Are we going to keep taking money from them for a losing proposition?’” Shapiro said. “All of our musicians are professional, and they’re all in the union, so we have to pay union fees and union dues and cover all that, and then we have our guest artists.
“The casino was wonderful with us. Their pricing was wonderful. They just did everything they could for us, and we did heavy marketing last year. We just don’t know what happened. We could not make it anywhere close to even. The sad part of it is that we sat outside after the concerts, and everybody just went on and on about how wonderful the concerts were. That is what’s really sad—that, and the musicians being out of work. Talking with the musicians, we’re not the only (organization having financial difficulties), which is sadder.”
The move to Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage also alienated some of the symphony’s clientele.
“The casino has a fabulous sound system, and everything is wonderful, but (some of the Desert Symphony supporters) didn’t want to go through,” Shapiro said. “… A lot of our patrons didn’t want to walk through the casino in the smoke, and it was a very far distance from the front of the casino to The Show.”
The Desert Symphony previously called the McCallum Theatre home.
“We had a wonderful run at the McCallum for many years, and it just became way too costly for us to stay there,” she said. “I guess they felt that they could make more money with other people, so they did not want us, but the casino was wonderful for us.”
Shapiro said the annual galas and fundraiser events were well-attended, but financially, it was “the concerts that were killing us.”
“(The symphony) had wonderful sponsorships and wonderful donors and patrons, and unfortunately, I hate to say it, most of them have passed away, and it just cannot build up the clientele like it used to.”
executive director Debbie Shapiro
“Our mission statement is to bring music to the Coachella Valley for everybody, and also to give the scholarships to kids, and we accomplished that—except we couldn’t continue to do that losing so much money at each concert,” she said. “The board just decided it’s just too much. Nancy Tapick, who has been the president since I’ve been around, had to go for personal reasons. She’s been gone from the desert for over two years, so it was just me and my wife and some of the board members helping out. It was a lot of work, but I loved every minute of it. I really did.”
Shapiro said that the decision to not have a concert season, and the process of closing down the symphony’s office, have been rather emotional.
“I’ve only been with the symphony for five years,” she said. “… They had such a following. They had wonderful sponsorships and wonderful donors and patrons, and unfortunately, I hate to say it, most of them have passed away, and it just cannot build up the clientele like it used to.”
Shapiro bemoaned the overall state of musical arts in the U.S. today.
“It’s just a crying shame. When I was in school, we had a county symphony; we had a city symphony; we had a school symphony, and that’s in grade school and high school,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro said she was surprised to fall in love with The Desert Symphony.
“This is my retirement job,” she said. “I moved out here to retire and take care of my father-in-law, but one thing led to another, and I just fell in love with the symphony and the musicians and the people. How could you not be around it, with these fabulous professionals? The first concert I went to for the symphony, they had 2 1/2 hours of rehearsal, and that’s it. You would think that they practice for weeks and weeks and weeks. It’s just amazing how they’ve come together like that, and they’ve played around with other symphonies in L.A. and Orange County. Every single one of them has been in movies and everything. They’re all published musicians, and it’s very sad what’s happening to them.”
While the future is uncertain, Shapiro said she’s not giving up hope—and neither are the musicians. She urges anyone interested in helping the cause to email office@desertsymphony.org.
“The musicians are calling me … and they just love playing together,” she said. “They’ve worked with other people, and everybody says that the Desert Symphony was the best. Thirty-seven years is a long time to run a charity, or to run a nonprofit anywhere, and to have it sustain. … We just decided to not have concerts this year, and the future is still out there. I’m not saying ‘no’ forever. I may be all by myself, but if you know anybody who wants to help me, I know the musicians would love to play.”
