The Moorpark College Symphony Orchestra celebrated its 25th year by opening its doors to the public for a one-night performance of “Beethoven’s 2nd Symphony” on Saturday, Oct. 25 in the Performing Arts Center.

The Performing Arts center was filled with friends, family members and music lovers of all ages, some of which included those who have great appreciation for Beethoven that even followed the rhythm of the music with their fingers.

As conductor James Song led the orchestra throughout Beethoven’s famous work, the viewers saw the passion and love he has for classical music as he swayed his baton with such authority.

One member that has been with the program since day one is flautist Rhonda Dayton, who shared how different the program’s first performance, the “Haydn Symphony” was.

“In our first performance, we had a tiny orchestra,” said Dayton. “There wasn’t a Performance Arts Center at the time, so we performed at a church in Westlake Village. We barely even had the right instrumentation and the levels were a little scary.”

With the program becoming so successful over the years, it has had it’s fair share of challenges. Dayton shares how much of a role of James Song, conductor and director of the orchestra, has played to the improvement of the program.

“James has just been so positive and always conducts with a smile,” said Dayton. ”He definitely takes the best out of his students and makes sure they perform at the best of their ability.”

With this performance being a one night only event, friends and family members from those who are in the orchestra made it a must-see performance.

Susan Stone, mother of Faith Stone, a 21-year-old anthropology-major, shares her overall thoughts on the performance.

“I thought the show was amazing,” said Stone. “Every time I come it’s so outstanding. I’m so amazed of the talent that Mr. Song has been able to produce. Hearing an orchestra like this, you would think that they are all professionals.”

With such a high quality performance, those in the crowd felt a different appreciation for music after hearing this concert.

Vikram Johnson, a 21-year-old anthropology major who attends California State University Channel Islands, shares the impact this event had on his views towards this genre of music.

“I definitely have more appreciation for this type of music after coming to this show,” said Johnson. ”Listening to live classical music is so much more exciting than what you may listen to on the radio or on a CD.”

With this event being so significant to the Symphony Orchestra, it also included a written piece composed by Steve Birch. Birch’s “On Thursday Evenings” was written specifically to celebrate the program’s 25th year.

Toni Lee, viola player, has been with the Orchestra since 2003 and explained what it was like for her to perform Birch’s unique piece.

“I really liked it,” said Birch. “In the beginning, everybody was weary about it, but as the event got closer it all fell into place and everyone ended up liking it.”

Even with members coming and leaving the program throughout the years, the program has managed to bond together like a family.

“This [program] is like a family,” said Dayton. “People really care about each other. We have unfortunately lost orchestra members who have passed throughout time, but the orchestra just bands together and we help each other get through it.”