I highly recommend attending the Symphony's POPS Series where the symphony collaborates with other artists to present a very upbeat community style performance. The venue has allowed for attendees to bring in their own food and drinks which is nice. There is also sections reserved for those who want to get up and dance. I have attended the 80s Rock event as well as the Earth Wind and Fire show and both were very entertaining. The support staff was very welcoming and accommodating as well. read more

November 18, 2023. It is uncomfortable for me to lower my rating since the hard working, hugely competent orchestra is not the problem I have with last night's program. The dancers from the Long Beach Ballet gave a stunning performances for Bernstein's Fancy Free. The three choices preceding the ballet sounded hopeful but maybe the mix simply didn't work for me. I'm a fan of creative twentieth/twenty-first Century composition. Yet to my untrained ear, nothing seemed to gel or perhaps they were too cohesive. Expecting to hear something delightful from the opera Treemonisha, it seemed a dull yet hinting-at-greatness overture. Joplin dull? Never. Were the program to have an inclusive piece that invited inventive themes, it might work but the result for me was hoping this movie background music would be over fast. There were more empty seats than last season. I hate to see that happen. read more

Long Beach Symphony - Pre-concert concert saxophone quartet - Performing Arts Near Me - Long Beach, California

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This was my first SoCal symphony. It's been a a long while since I'd been to one. My mom loves Vivaldi and Mozart so this was a perfect event to bring her to. I'm not familiar with Long Beach so figuring out where to park was a little stressful. It was after I accidentally found public parking in another garage that I realized there was parking for the theater itself. Downtown parking anywhere raises my stress level. There are metal detectors just before the entrance doors. Seating around fire pits. Water fountains. Very friendly people work there. The outdoor scene is a nice backdrop for photos. Entering the venue, you can tell some updating couldn't hurt, but it's still very nice. To the left was a small pre show with seating going on. To the right, people were socializing. Just down a small flight of steps are the bathrooms, seating area and snack bar. Two croissant sandwiches and two glasses of wine ran about $57. We were STARVING and happily paid. We were on balcony 2, row 1. Great view. Not far at all. The sound was good. Orchestras played beautifully!! It was amazing. My mother loved it. That's all that mattered to me. If this venue gets an update, so will my amount of stars. I'll be back here. read more

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The Long Beach Symphony is truly a local treasure. Performances are at the Performing Arts Center and the Arena. We are so lucky to have live music in our beautiful city! read more

Long Beach Symphony - Performing Arts Near Me - Long Beach, California

Went to see the Beethoven 5th. Performance was amazing and thoroughly enjoyed it. Reason for the 4 stars is because this place really needs an update. The theater is a bit run down, dated and uncomfortable. It seems or feels dirty. Performance again was super. read more

The love of my life and I went to the symphony tonight, that sounds so classy I know! Well, technically we went to see the Long Beach Symphony POPS which is still the Long Beach symphony, just the subject matter is related to pop culture, like tonight it was film scores, so fun! Last time we went it was Ben Vereen from the Rat Pack singing with the symphony. My boyfriend's boss gives us his season tickets when he can't go so I'm sorry I don't know how much it costs :/ Anyways on to the review, the POPS is rad. It's in the Long Beach Arena and the entire floor is filled with 12 seater tables like one big giant wedding. There is also seating in the upper sections without tables. The awesome thing is, you can bring in your own food and drink, yes I'm talking about alcohol. It's like picnicking with the symphony!!! Wendy's and Wine anyone? The sound is really good and the symphony orchestra is really top notch! Some of the members are even band members on Dancing with the Stars (i'm a nerd I know!). The only thing is if you don't like hob-nobbing with slightly drunk senior citizens, don't go here, seriously. There's maybe a total of 10 people under 30 and 6 of them are 10-year old grandchildren. If you're okay with that though, and I love it, you should go! Oh and park across the street on Long Beach Blvd, the parking is 4 bucks cheaper and you wont be stuck in the structure for 30 minutes after! I love feeling classy without actually being classy! read more

Long Beach Symphony - Long Beach symphony POPS - Performing Arts Near Me - Long Beach, California

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Very disappointing that This organization will now require proof of vaccination to concertgoers and will not allow a negative COVID test as an alternative. If the safety concern were about COVID then a negative test should be requested of all concertgoers, regardless of vaccination status, as we know that even vaccinated persons can transmit COVID. This also excludes our youth from attending such events. This is medical discrimination and not based on logic or equity. read more

Ten dollars. Ten dollars. I sh't you not. This is the price of a student ticket, and you get to hear Tchaikovsky. Granted, it isn't the CSO or New York Phil, but it's ten dollars if you're a student. You would be insane not to go to this. Even the cookies at half-time--am I allowed to call it half-time?--are $2.50. That's about what you pay for a straw at the Met, not to mention that monstrosity constructed in downtown Los Angeles and doubling as a lair for Yo-Yo Ma. The only drawbacks were the bathrooms, which were somewhat small and thus required lines. But my guess is you could bring a whole six pack of Michelob in here and no one would notice. The other problem is they only seem to play 5 times a year. The math of that doesn't quite make sense to me. Artistically, I'm hardly one to judge, but the Shostakovitch sounded rhythmic, to the extent that it can, and the conductor was as enthused as Richard Dreyfus in the whats-it-called-film. Did I mention it was $10? read more

Came to hear a Portrait of Happiness with HAPA (Polynesian music). Was a spontaneous spur of the moment decision. Went to the box office to purchase tickets and I got them for free! The Signal Hill Tribune donated tickets and asked the be given out to patrons. WOW! What a nice surprise! Ushers were all extremely nice and helpful. So glad I came. Great evening! read more

Long Beach Symphony - At LB POPS Symphony-- Portrait of Happiness- the Polynesian version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow...beautiful! - Performing Arts Near Me - Long Beach, California

I love coming to the long beach symphony orchestra. Always a good show. Come early for the featured performance in the lobby too! read more

Long Beach Symphony - They have featured music in lobby as you wait. Very nice. - Performing Arts Near Me - Long Beach, California

A perfectly competent Orchestra. The conductor is a charming fellow and the musicians did their job wonderfully. I took my friend and my father out. Neither of time are particularly big orchestral fans, but both enjoyed the concert. THe vanue itself, the Long Beach performing arts center is pretty decent. Nicely kept up without feeling too stuffy read more

We went to the LB Symphony Pop Concert on November 17, 2012, A Night in Brazil, Matt Catingub, conductor. It also featured Brazilian singer/guitarist Teka. It was a mix of romantic melodies and music from Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sergio Mendes. The music was pretty good and the orchestra is quite talented. But the acoustics in the Long Beach Arena sound like a cheap mp3 player. The singing was overwhelmed by the orchestra and the venue was just not up to what should have been a really inspired evening, given that Brazilian music is quite rhythmic. The solo instruments lacked the crisp, clean feel that inspires feeling in an audience. The sound system sounded really cheap! The musicians and the conductor tried, but the LB Arena needs a really state of the art sound system to do justice to this talented orchestra. The singing came out distorted and we could barely make out any of the words, even when they were singing in English! I have been chastened, no more LBSO Pop Concerts for us in this venue. Don't waste your money on a LBSO Pop Concert at the Long Beach Arena as you will strain to hear anything that approximates the sound of clean crisp music. Really disappointed! read more

The husband and I attended this past Saturday night. I had never been before. Just beautiful. It seems like classical music is not as appreciated as it should be. Had a wonderful time. Staff was amazing, orchestra was wonderful, facilities clean. Loved it. read more

get yourself some great seats and fill your head with beautiful music. Wear your best clothes and you will truely feel like royalty, but you didn't pay like royalty. You can get some great seats for a lot less than other orchestras charge (LA Phil for one). On top of that this orchestra is every bit as good as those other big one. read more

Imagine my surprise when I went to lbso.org and found that the entire 75th Season devoted to my favorite composer, what a treat and 15 minutes from home! We went Saturday, November 21, and heard The Third Symphony performed to perfection. The orchestra was wonderful. The conductor a joy to watch. The sound in The Terrace Theater was spectacular. The Classics Series shows are held in The Terrace Theater, while The Pops are held in The Arena. I am not sure about ticket pricing for The Pops series, but seats for The Classics start at $18! An unbelievably great deal! It is worth noting that the address listed here is incorrect, but rather the entire arena complex with the convention center and all, across the street from 555 Ocean! read more

Great music!! Everyone is nice here, came to see Beach Boys concert few years back and sounded like them. It is very clean there and very cool! read more

The Symphony was offering a 40% discount which they did not honor for February, 2018 tickets to a POPS concert.

Excellent opening night! Wonderful find in the area, easy to park, lots of nice restaurants within walking distance of the venue. The atmosphere and talent were superb, enjoyed the pre concert talk with our conductor. It added to the enjoyment and understanding of the program immensely. read more

While the musicians are technically proficient, the program for the April 25, 2015 concert was terrible. No contrast in style, a solo performance by a concert master that had the feel of subbing for the loss of a featured performer, and the main bill featuring Stostachovich was a piece of discord, frustration and insanity that had the orchestra lacking passion and the audience streaming for the doors after the 2nd and 3rd movement. Celebrate the 8th season with music that inspires another few decades. Last night's choices felt like a death march. read more

May 3,2014... So what comes to mind when you hear Long Beach California? It should be the POPs, tonight's performance rivaled that in any city in North America. Susan Egan brought forward an electrifying and dynamic performance. The orchestra was incredible and yes a convention center built decades ago has as good acoustics as any new venue. A Broadway revue to beat all. Thank you to Jane Lynch for stopping by too and performing her role fom Annie. The conductor Todd was very engaging. Next time you visit our beach city make sure you check to see if the POPs is performing. Not to be missed... Next season looks very good entertaining .... read more