Heather Gray – Full Article
July 2026
Contributing writer and Youth Symphony Parent, Rebecca Juretic had the opportunity to interview Heather Gray, Administrative, Finance, and Special Projects Coordinator for the Performing Arts Center, about her victory winning the Viking River Cruise Raffle as part of the SLO Symphony’s event, Symphony in Bloom. Here is her story.
Tell me the story of winning the cruise. I hear it’s amazing.
I wasn’t able to attend the Gala because my grandmother was dying and I was holding space for that. Within minutes of finding out she had passed away, I found out that I won the cruise. Those few minutes were a wide range of emotions, but it felt fortuitous, like a gift from my grandmother in some way. When I bought the raffle ticket, I had thought about her and how she had gone on similar cruises throughout Europe and had always told me to get as many stamps in my passport as possible and that life is too short not to see the world. Growing up, my grandparents would send me postcards from around the world, and they definitely inspired my wanderlust spirit. (READ MORE)
I hear it’s also wonderful how you’re planning to use the cruise.
I recently got engaged, and my fiancé and I are planning to use this trip as our honeymoon.
Obviously, you’re a supporter of the arts! What does it mean to you to support the SLO Symphony (probably in more ways than one!)?
The arts are life, and I truly hold dear that the power of music unites and creates magic. Supporting SLO Symphony for me means singing your praises, being a patron, inviting friends to your concerts, and supporting community connections and collaborations.
My heart beats fullest when experiencing live music, especially a live orchestra.
Heather gray
My heart beats fullest when experiencing live music, especially a live orchestra. We are beyond fortunate to have such an incredible symphony in SLO, especially for such a small (but mighty) city; it’s truly on par with the orchestras in major metropolitan areas. We are so lucky! Coming from Denver, Colorado, I was a supporter of the Colorado Symphony and was fortunate to see so many incredible concerts, and was exposed to many unique collaborations with groups of different genres and seemingly opposing music styles. I love seeing different communities come together for the arts, but especially for live music, and am always thinking of ways to help support that and amplify the arts in SLO.
When my friend Nicholas Larson of Proxima Parada told me that he dreamed of collaborating with the SLO Symphony, I was so thrilled! I immediately asked him what he would need to make that dream happen and how amazing it would be to see that on stage at the PAC. Serendipitously, I could give him the specifics of what it would take from the logistical and financial side at the PAC, since I handle the contracts and financial settlements. On the spot, I pulled up the expenses for a symphony show and a similar collaboration to give him a range of what that could look like. By the end of our conversation, I had emailed Rachel at the symphony to make an introduction, and within weeks, they began conversations with the SLO Symphony and the PAC, and less than a year later, they took the stage together in front of a nearly sold-out show. I was blessed to introduce the show with Rachel, and as I looked out at the audience, I was overcome with joy and gratitude to see a diverse and vibrant full house about to experience a truly special and unique moment for our community, with a rock band from SLO, playing music they wrote in SLO, with our world-class SLO Symphony. This concert helped introduce new audiences to the SLO Symphony, which was one of my greatest hopes for this collaboration.
One of my other favorite ways to support the SLO Symphony is bringing my kids and their friends to No Ties rehearsals and singing the praises of that program to friends with young children or friends who may not normally attend a symphony concert. Those friends have been amazed by the SLO Symphony and the special behind-the-scenes experience, and many have been delighted to experience the PAC for the very first time. I love how that program increases access and invites new audiences to the PAC and the SLO Symphony.
At a time when the world has become more and more divided, I hold on to the hope that music will continue to unite and inspire us in spaces of commonality, and classical music has the immense power and opportunity to do that. In a study led by Wolfgang Tschacher, a professor at the University of Bern in Switzerland, he found that among a group of 132 concertgoers in Berlin, aged 18 to 85, their heart rates and breath synced. He noted, “It is fascinating that people at a concert, who do not know each other and do not even speak to each other, seem to have a shared experience, based on measurements like their heart rate.” That communal experience of live classical music cannot be replicated, and it invites us home to our shared humanity in a way nothing else can. We need live music more than ever, and we’re blessed to have the SLO Symphony provide healing, awe-inspiring, and heartfelt experiences for our community. I’m a forever fan and look forward to continuing to support the SLO Symphony in every way possible.