FROM THE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Photo Credit: Lauren Radack
DEAR FRIENDS, In April we are continuing our work on connecting with our educational institutions and music students. It is the San Diego Symphony’s priority to ensure that we encourage our music educators, our school principals and superintendents, our University faculty and students, and our young musicians to continue their hard work and dedication to making sure music is present in our school curriculums, and is a form of expression afforded to all who wish to pursue music as a vocation or avocation. On April 15th we welcome the performing ensembles of San Diego State University in a first ever performance on the Copley Symphony Hall, Jacobs Music Center stage. The SDSU Wind Ensemble, Orchestra and Chorus will perform, and the ticket sales for this event will go toward scholarships and toward an internship for a student to work with us here at the San Diego Symphony. Last month, on March 13, we welcomed San Diego Unified’s Honor Band and Orchestra to our stage, highlighting the music education curriculum in our schools. And on April 23 we will host eight area bands on our stage for the very first time. They will play three works and will be evaluated and coached by Frank Ticheli, one of our country’s finest music educators and composers. We are focused on expanding our efforts in educational institutions in San Diego, and all of these initiatives are in addition to the 60,000 youth who attend our Young People’s Concerts every year. In the coming year look for new family programming and other community based efforts in our ongoing effort to “Make Music Matter.” We welcome Midori as a soloist with the orchestra in April. She is a shining example of an artist who exemplifies a life dedicated to making music available to all ages. At age 11 Midori began making headlines as a Juilliard Pre-College student when she appeared as soloist with the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta, appearing with our orchestra in 1982 as an 11 year old. She has her own foundation, Midori & Friends, which is dedicated to musically underserved New York City schoolchildren, and she’s a distinguished Professor of Violin at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. She has even been designated a “Messenger of Peace” for her work with the United Nations. Leading Midori’s performances of Tchaikovsky’s beloved Violin Concerto will be our latest guest conductor, Rory Macdonald, a rising young musician from Scotland who has distinguished himself recently with the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Hallé and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestras as well as the BBC Symphony and a multitude of North American and European opera houses. We will close out our classical month with the return of Music Director Jahja Ling as he leads the musicians of the Orchestra in what are sure to be stunning performances of Gustav Mahler’s “Tragic” Symphony No. 6. This “fate-filled” Mahler symphony, out of the nearly complete cycle Maestro Ling has graced our audiences with over the years, has a particularly deep meaning for Mr. Ling, as Dr. Goldzband reveals in his program history note. By now you should have received information about our Bayside Summer Nights summer programs. Single tickets go on sale April 10, but to ensure the best seats and the best prices, please consider becoming a subscriber this year if you’re not already. Between the wonderful concerts with our Orchestra and special concerts featuring artists like Seth MacFarlane, Amy Grant, Trace Adkins and Bernadette Peters, along with Chris Botti and Diana Ross, you won’t want to miss out! Sincerely,
Martha Gilmer Chief Executive Officer S AN DI EG O SYMPHO NY O RCHEST RA WINT ER SEA SO N A PRIL 2016
COVER PHOTO CREDIT: David Hartig P E R FOR M AN C E S MAGAZ I NE P1