SYMPHONY SOUNDS RETURN TO CONEJO\Director makes music the thing in new orchestra.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

Some symphony lovers go for the concert hall frills.

Others can't wait for the multimedia pyrotechnics.

But for Howard Sonstegard, it's the music. Go ahead and close your eyes.

The conductor and music director of the newly formed Conejo Valley Symphony says that concertgoers attending the orchestra's premiere on Saturday should expect nothing but the pure sounds of Bizet, Schubert and other classical greats.

"I'm kind of a throwback to the days when the conductor walked onto the stage and presented the music and the audience was there just for the sake of the music," he said.

The Conejo Valley Symphony is made up of musicians, board members and others from the former Conejo Symphony, which was formally dissolved last year when it merged with the Ventura Symphony to form the New West Symphony.

"We felt a need for a community-based orchestra," said Shirley Garrett, a member of the new group's board. "We feel there's room for us and the New West Symphony, which is more of a regional orchestra."

The new symphony's premiere is slated for 8 p.m. Saturday at Ascencion Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1600 E. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. To preorder, call [phone].

The program includes the overture to "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini; "Pavane" by Ravel; "Carmen Suite No. 1" by Bizet; "Symphony No. 8 'Unfinished"' by Schubert; and "Poet and Peasant Overture" by Suppe.

Sonstegard - who had been principal trumpet player and assistant conductor with the old Conejo Symphony - was offered a spot on the New West Symphony as assistant conductor, but decided not to go that route.

Instead, he set to work putting together the new orchestra , drawing from former Conejo Symphony musicians. He now has 43 paid musicians who will perform at Saturday's concert.

Organizers are still working toward non-profit status, a process that will require electing a president, secretary and treasurer, Garrett said. It will be a membership organization, with those who either pay the $25 contribution or season ticket holders comprising the voting membership, Garrett said.

Symphony officials hope to start a season in September, she said.

The Conejo Valley Symphony is the second local orchestra formed to help fill the gap left by the disappearance of the Conejo Symphony. The CLU-Community Orchestra - born late last year - also took musicians left out of the New West Symphony.

MUSIC MAKERS

Here are local symphony orchestras, their conductors, primary venues and telephone numbers.

The Agoura Hills/Las Virgenes Community Concert Band. Conductor: James Song. Plays at Agoura High School and local parks. [phone].

The CLU-Community Orchestra. Conductor: Daniel Geeting. Plays at the Samuelson Chapel at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. [phone] or [phone].

The Conejo Valley Symphony. Conductor: Howard Sonstegard. Plays at Ascension Lutheran Church in Thousand Oaks. [phone].

New West Symphony. Conductor: Boris Brott. Plays in the Probst Center at theThousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and the Oxnard Civic Auditorium. [phone].

The Santa Susana Symphony. Conductor: Philippe Fanjeaud. Plays at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center. [phone].

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Photo (CONEJO only--color) Howard Sonstegard, conductor and director of the new Conejo Valley Symphony, puts music over theatrics. Michael Owen Baker/Daily News Box MUSIC MAKERS (see text)