On December 15, 1968 in the Town Hall South Auditorium, now called Mountain View Auditorium, in Sun City, residents gathered for the first performance of the brand new Sun City Symphony Orchestra. Nearly 1,000 patrons, a capacity crowd, enjoyed the performance under its founder and conductor, Jennings Butterfield. The performance consisted of musicians from the Sun City Community, which was then just eight years old, along with professional musicians from the Luke Air Force Base band, the Flagstaff Symphony and the Phoenix Symphony.
 
Founder Jennings Butterfield passed away in 1982 and his wife, Lillian, in 1990. But the legacy they helped to create lives on in the music we hear today. Maestro Butterfield was succeeded by Dr. Bernard Goodman for one season, followed by Dr. Eugene P. Lombardi, who conducted from 1983 to 1987. Maestro James Yestadt took the baton in 1988 and directed the talents of the professional musicians from around the Valley and the retired professionals from the Sun Cities until 2006. Under the direction of Maestro Yestadt, in 2002 the West Valley Symphony received WESTMARC’s “Best of the West” award.