San Diego Symphony Season 2023-24 Brochure

SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY

RAFAEL PAYARE, MUSIC DIRECTOR

2023-24

Join

A THRILLING NEW CHAPTER

We could not be more excited to share with you the details of the first season in our newly renovated home, Jacobs Music Center.

A historic building for San Diego and for the Symphony, Copley Symphony Hall at Jacobs Music Center is a place with great history. It was built as one of America's Fox Theatres in the 1920s, and over its lifetime it has hosted hundreds of thousands of San Diegans, as well as visitors to our great city. It was—and is—an important part of a vibrant Downtown San Diego.

When the San Diego Symphony acquired the theater in 1984, it undertook modifications to turn it from a film theater into one that could be home to an orchestra. As the home of the San Diego Symphony for the past 36 years, it was a space in which historic concerts were performed, and many memories were made. However, we now strive to create a space that showcases the quality of musicianship of our orchestra musicians and guest artists who perform with us. We strive to create a concert hall that the residents of one of America's greatest cities deserve. Now, with this renovation nearly complete, Jacobs Music Center will fulfill these needs and more.

But the most spectacular locations are still just places. What makes them magical are the people with whom we experience them. And it is our musicians, patrons, donors, subscribers, ticket buyers, volunteers, staff, those that attend our performances—and those that will soon experience or encounter our music—that will make this a truly special place. It is the current generation—and the next generation—that will make this a centerpiece of a vibrant Downtown community. We will continue to honor the tradition of this space and our art form, while ensuring that we are also at the forefront of conversations about who we are as a community. And that this institution, this place, and those that are part of these musical conversations, will continue to create memories to last many lifetimes.

Rafael and I join together in inviting you to create these experiences with us.

Martha A. Gilmer CEO

Rafael Payare Music Director

Photo credits: Rafael PayareJ. Henry Fair; Martha Gilmer –Lauren Radack

WELCOME

At long last, we return to a completely reimagined and transformed Jacobs Music Center... two years of extensive work to create an experience of sound and intimacy for you and our musicians that we have long dreamed of...better sightlines, improved acoustics and a renewed luster that honors our nearly 100-year-old hall. We can’t wait for you to join us for the reopening of San Diego’s landmark concert hall.

WELCOME HOME!

A Season of Cherished Music...

April 12, 2024

November 4, 2023

November 28, 2023

March 20, 2024

Steven Banks

Gity Razaz

Lang Lang

Seth Parker Woods

and Beloved Artists

Transformative Music and Performances

From Mahler’s staggering Resurrection Symphony to inventively staged performances of Prokofiev’s music for Romeo and Juliet and special one-nightonly performances by Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang, Seth Parker Woods and others, this is a glorious season with blockbuster, not-to-be-missed concerts!

February 3, 2023

Photo credits: Lang Lang – Olaf Heine, Deutsche Grammophon; Steven Banks – Chris Lee; Yo-Yo Ma – Jason Bell; Seth Parker Woods – Grittani Creative; Gilbert Castellanos - Michele Zousmer

Yo-Yo Ma May 7, 2024

Gilbert Castellanos

JACOBS MUSIC CENTER: GRAND OPENING NIGHT

SPECIAL EVENT CALIFORNIA FESTIVAL 2023

Saturday, Nov 4, 2023

Rafael Payare, conductor

Steven Banks, saxophone

Liv Redpath, soprano

Texu Kim: Welcome Home!! Fanfare for Jacobs Music Center (World Premiere, SDS Commission)

R. Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks

Billy Childs: Saxophone Concerto (West Coast Premiere, SDS Co-commission)

Mozart: Exsultate jubilate

Debussy: La mer

Music Director Rafael Payare and the Symphony celebrate the Orchestra’s return to Jacobs Music Center in a program that showcases the musicians and the exceptional new aural and visual experience of the venue. The kaleidoscopic program begins with Texu Kim’s new fanfare for Jacobs Music Center. The Symphony continues its exploration of Strauss’s epic tone poems with audience favorite Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks followed by a dazzling Billy Childs West Coast Premiere co-commissioned by the San Diego Symphony, with the charismatic style of soloist Steven Banks. The second half of the program explores Mozart’s festive Exsultate jubilate, where opera sensation Liv Redpath takes center stage, and concludes with the dreamy serenity of Debussy’s illustrious La mer. See page 23 for details about the Gala.

Jacobs Music Center Season

Liv Redpath

Steven Banks

RESURRECTION AND RENEWAL: MAHLER’S SYMPHONY NO. 2 CALIFORNIA FESTIVAL 2023

Saturday, Nov 11 & Sunday, Nov 12, 2023

Rafael Payare, conductor

Angela Meade, soprano

Anna Larsson, mezzo-soprano

San Diego Symphony Festival Choir

Carlos Simon: New Work (SDS Commission)

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Resurrection"

Experience the grandeur of the “new” Jacobs Music Center as Music Director Rafael Payare and the Orchestra present Mahler’s towering Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection.” Distinguished soloists Angela Meade and Anna Larsson join the Symphony’s continued exploration of Mahler. The program opens with a San Diego Symphony commission from renowned American composer Carlos Simon.

This performance is part of the California Festival. For more information, see page 11.

STRAVINSKY’S RITE OF SPRING CALIFORNIA FESTIVAL 2023

Friday, Nov 17 & Saturday, Nov 18, 2023

Rafael Payare, conductor

Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite

Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 7

Vladimir Tarnopolsky: Danse Macabre (World Premiere, SDS Commission)

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

Experience an evening featuring Stravinsky’s whirling The Rite of Spring, which still astounds audiences more than a century after its riotous Parisian premiere in 1913. The spectacular work shocked the world with its vivid depictions of ritual dances in pagan Russia—a perfect pairing for the world premiere of Vladimir Tarnopolsky’s Danse Macabre. Music Director Rafael Payare sets the tone for the performance with Béla Bartók’s dark and mysterious Miraculous Mandarin Suite, and Villa-Lobos' influences of Bach melded with Brazilian folk elements on display in his Bachianas Brasileiras.

This performance is part of the California Festival. For more information, see page 11.

Rafael Payare

Photo credits: Liv Redpath –Thomas Bruno; Steven Banks –Chris Lee; Rafael PayareJ. Henry Fair

Mahler ’s Resurrection Symphony

Saturday, Nov 11

Sunday, Nov 12

What was created must perish, What has perished must rise again. Tremble no more! Prepare yourself to live!

There could not be a more fitting work to perform in the first subscription concert of the season—in the newly resurrected Jacobs Music Center—than Gustav Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection.” Cast in five movements and written for a massive orchestra, vocal soloists and chorus, Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony takes listeners on a journey in search of truth, solace and the meaning of life, all on a galactic scale. Written during an age riddled with doubts and anxieties, not unlike our present, Mahler plunges us into the fires of hell before lifting us into an ecstatic, soul-affirming hymn of resurrection—one of the greatest of all music climaxes.

Gustav Mahler

California Festival

In early November, musical organizations across California will join together for the California Festival, a music initiative showcasing the most compelling and forward-looking voices from throughout the world by performing works written within the past five years.

Led by the San Diego Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony, with support from Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO), the Festival showcases California’s spirit of aesthetic adventure through music and the state’s reputation for creativity in the arts, technology and multiculturalism.

As part of the California Festival, San Diego Symphony will present a new work celebrating the renovated Jacobs Music Center hall from San Diego-resident Texu Kim and the West Coast Premiere of a new saxophone concerto by Billy Childs on November 4. Atlanta native, composer, curator and activist, Carlos Simon, will be featured on November 11 and 12, and the world premiere of Vladimir Tarnopolsky’s Danse Macabre will be on November 17 and 18.

Carlos Simon’s work spans many compositional styles, including jazz, gospel and contemporary classical music. A 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence-winner, Simon was commissioned by the San Diego Symphony to write a new work on the occasion of the reopening of the Jacobs Music Center.

Performed by orchestras in Russia, Europe and the U.S., Russian composer Vladimir Tarnopolsky’s compositions juxtapose euphony with sound and noise, using electronic and acoustic instruments. His new work, a dance of death, is a reflection of his personal response to the catastrophe that has overwhelmed the country of his birth (Ukraine) and the country where he has spent his adult life (Russia).

Also as part of the Festival, the November Family Concert showcases Because, A Symphony of Serendipity by Jessie Montgomery which brings to life Mo Willems' award-winning children’s book, Because. The book tells a powerful tale of how chance, discovery and persistence changed the life of a young girl.

AMERICAN MASTERPIECES: THE MUSIC OF DVOŘÁK AND DAWSON

Friday, Dec 1 & Saturday, Dec 2, 2023

Joshua Weilerstein, conductor

Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony

Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, “From the New World” Conductor Joshua Weilerstein leads Dvořák’s enchanting Symphony No. 9, “From the New World.” The composer reflected on his time in the United States, and inspired by Black spirituals and Native American music, Dvořák created a work filled with majestic fanfares and brilliant melodies. Just four decades later in 1934, the world premiere of William Dawson’s passionate Negro Folk Symphony brought a Carnegie Hall audience to its feet in enthusiastic applause. A critic in attendance called it “the most distinctive and promising American symphonic proclamation which has so far been achieved.”

BACH'S CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN AND OBOE

Saturday, Dec 9 & Sunday, Dec 10, 2023

Edo de Waart, conductor

Jeff Thayer, violin

Sarah Skuster, oboe

Brahms: Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn

J.S. Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor

Fauré: Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande

Elgar: Enigma Variations

Principal Guest Conductor Edo de Waart leads this program filled with sounds that perfectly complement the beauty of December. Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe, adapted from a piece originally written for two harpsichords lost to the ages, was beautifully recreated to match Bach’s voice and intention. Its energetic melodies and harmonious duets have delighted audiences for centuries.

Joshua Weilerstein

Jeff Thayer

Sarah Skuster

LISIECKI PLAYS MOZART

Saturday, Jan 13 & Sunday, Jan 14, 2024

Tianyi Lu, conductor Jan Lisiecki, piano

Anna Clyne: This Midnight Hour

Mozart: Piano Concerto in D minor

R. Strauss: Aus Italien

Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki, whose style is lauded as “pristine, lyrical and intelligent” (The New York Times), takes the Jacobs Music Center stage to perform Mozart’s sublime Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor. Rising star conductor Tianyi Lu takes the podium for this program, which opens with Anna Clyne’s propulsive This Midnight Hour, inspired by the poetry of Juan Ramón Jiménez and Charles Baudelaire. Written when the composer was just 22 years of age, Aus Italien brings this mid-winter program to a close with Strauss' vivid depiction of the culture, landscape, and sunshine of Italy.

HADELICH PLAYS SIBELIUS

Friday, Jan 19; Saturday, Jan 20; Sunday, Jan 21, 2024

Paolo Bortolameolli, conductor

Augustin Hadelich, violin

Miguel Farías: Estallido

Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, “Pathétique”

Chilean conductor Paolo Bortolameolli opens this orchestral showcase with Chilean composer Miguel Farías’ brilliantly explosive Estallido. Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto presents an ambitious glimpse into the soul of a troubled composer. Grammy® Award-winning soloist Augustin Hadelich performs this intimate and demanding work. Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique”, completed just nine days before his death, punctuates the composer’s life with a soaring work filled with raw emotion, lush orchestration and graceful melodies.

Augustin Hadelich

Tianyi Lu

Photo credits: Joshua Weilerstein –Paul Marc Mitchell; Tianyi LuAntony Potts; Augustin Hadelich –Suxiao Yang

PAYARE LEADS MOZART AND BRUCKNER

Friday, Jan 26 & Saturday, Jan 27, 2024

Rafael Payare, conductor

Mozart: Symphony No. 29 in A Major

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major

Music Director Rafael Payare takes the podium to lead two timeless masterworks by Mozart and Bruckner, composed more than one century apart. Mozart’s Symphony No. 29, a charming piece written during his time in Vienna, has delighted audiences since its premiere. The second half of the program features Bruckner’s transcendent Symphony No. 7, considered by many to be among the composer’s preeminent masterworks.

RAVEL, DEBUSSY AND ORTIZ

Friday, Feb 16 & Saturday, Feb 17, 2024

Sunday, Feb 18, 2024 (McCallum Theatre, Palm Desert)

Rafael Payare, conductor

Pacho Flores, trumpet

Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin

Gabriela Ortiz: Altar de bronce (West Coast Premiere, SDS Co-commission)

Ravel: La valse

Debussy: Images

Trumpeter Pacho Flores, praised by The San Diego Union-Tribune for “unwavering solidity of tone and comfortably switching between popular and classical styles of playing,” returns to San Diego to perform Altar de bronce by Mexican composer

Gabriela Ortiz. Music Director Rafael Payare leads this brilliant program that includes Ravel’s tender Le tombeau de Couperin and whirling La valse, and concludes with the fantastical sonic tapestry created by Debussy’s Images

Rafael Payare

Pacho Flores

SHAHAM PLAYS BATES' VIOLIN CONCERTO

Saturday, Feb 24 & Sunday, Feb 25, 2024

Rafael Payare, conductor

Gil Shaham, violin

Mason Bates: Violin Concerto (West Coast Premiere)

Wagner: Ring Without Words

Grammy® Award-winning violinist Gil Shaham returns to San Diego for the West Coast Premiere of Mason Bates’ Violin Concerto, an explosive work showcasing Bates’ masterful modern style. Music Director Rafael Payare leads this sonic expedition, which closes with Wagner’s Ring Without Words, an ingenious synthesis of the composers’ Ring cycle of operas, arranged by conductor Lorin Maazel. Ring Without Words invites listeners on an enchanting journey through the Rhine to Valhalla, soaring over hills, valleys and caves, with the flight of a Valkyrie.

PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION

Friday, Mar 1 & Saturday, Mar 2, 2024

Ludovic Morlot, conductor

Andrea Overturf, English horn

Barber: Second Essay for Orchestra

Rorem: Concerto for English Horn

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Pictures at an Exhibition invites you to see the world in sonic technicolor. Modest Mussorgsky composed the work in memory of a friend’s posthumous exhibit. From the opening

“Promenade” to the majestic “Great Gate of Kiev,” this masterpiece is one you don't just hear, you experience. French conductor Ludovic Morlot leads the program, which includes works from two venerable American composers: Ned Rorem’s Concerto for English Horn with Andrea Overturf, San Diego Symphohy's Dr. William and Evelyn Lamden English Horn Chair, and Samuel Barber’s lyrical Second Essay for Orchestra.

Andrea Overturf

Gil Shaham

Photo credits: Rafael Payare

J. Henry Fair; Pacho Flores –Juan Martinez; Gil Shaham

Chris

Wagner’sRing Without Words

Saturday, Feb 24

Sunday, Feb 25

All the musical beauty of Wagner’s 17-hour epic in just over one hour. Wagner’s Ring Without Words, arranged by conductor and composer Lorin Maazel in 1987, follows the entire Ring Cycle chronologically, beginning with the first notes of Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), travelling through Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), touching on Siegfried, and ending with the last chord of Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods).

Wagner—titan of orchestral writing — composed a score so rich that it stands on its own without vocals. From the opening brass foundational chords setting the scene of Das Rheingold, through the famous Ride of the Valkyrie theme and Siegfried’s Funeral March, this is a symphonic journey through Wagner’s four great operas featuring the virtuosic playing of the orchestra.

Richard Wagner

Imagined Romeo &

Friday, Mar 29

Saturday, Mar 30

Juliet Proko ev’s

An Immersive Retelling of Star-Crossed Love

A feast of gorgeous music from Prokofiev’s much-loved 1935 ballet score complete with beautiful projections and voices to tell the immortal story of Shakespeare’s tragedy. Jacobs Music Center will be immersed with beautiful original illustrations and the glorious music of Prokofiev performed by Music Director Rafael Payare and the San Diego Symphony in this achingly familiar story of love and loss. Created and directed by Gerard McBurney, this will be a production like no other and a season highlight not to be missed!

RACHMANINOFF’S PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2

Friday, Mar 15; Saturday, Mar 16; Sunday, Mar 17, 2024

Sir Mark Elder, conductor

Sir Stephen Hough, piano

Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite from The Tale of Tsar Saltan

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor

Experience Sergei Rachmaninoff’s iconic Piano Concerto No. 2, among the greatest piano showpieces in classical repertoire. The concerto’s emotional peaks and valleys will sparkle in the hands of soloist Sir Stephen Hough. Conductor Sir Mark Elder, in his first appearances in San Diego, leads this program of classical titans, including Camille Saint-Saëns’ sonorous Symphony No. 3 featuring the organ of Copley Symphony Hall. Rimsky-Korsakov’s passionate Suite from The Tale of Tsar Saltan opens this vivid program.

MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS AND SIBELIUS

Saturday, Mar 23 & Sunday, Mar 24, 2024

Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor

Dashon Burton, bass-baritone

Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D minor

Michael Tilson Thomas: Selections from Meditations on Rilke

Michael Tilson Thomas: Street Song

Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C Major

Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, lauded across the globe for a half-century of achievements in classical music, is featured with San Diego Symphony as both conductor and composer.

Sibelius masterworks bookend the program: the 6th Symphony, which the composer reminisced upon as depicting the “scent of the first snow” opens the evening, with his 7th symphony described as his “most astonishing and fantastical” closing the program. Adding to this stellar program are works from Tilson Thomas: songs set to the master poet Rilke performed by Grammy® Award-winning bassbaritone Dashon Burton, as well as Street Song, an ode to the experience of musicians greeting the dawn, featuring the brass of the San Diego Symphony.

Gil Shaham

Michael Tilson Thomas

Sir Stephen Hough

PROKOFIEV: ROMEO & JULIETIMAGINED!

Friday, Mar 29 & Saturday, Mar 30, 2024

Rafael Payare, conductor

Gerard McBurney, director

Schumann: Symphony No. 1 in BL Major, “Spring”

Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet

A feast of gorgeous music from Prokofiev’s much-loved 1935 ballet score complete with beautiful projections and excerpts highlighting the immortal story of Shakespeare’s tragedy. Jacobs Music Center will be immersed with beautiful original illustrations and the glorious music of Prokofiev performed by Music Director Rafael Payare and the San Diego Symphony in this achingly familiar story of star-crossed lovers. Created and directed by Gerard McBurney, this spectacular production is not to be missed.

LANG LANG PLAYS SAINT-SAËNS

Friday, Apr 12, 2024

Otto Tausk, conductor

Lang Lang, piano

Joey Roukens: 365

Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2

Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird (1945 Version)

Soar through a mythical story of princes and princesses, magic and heroics as Dutch conductor Otto Tausk leads Stravinsky’s enchanting Firebird Suite. The program opens with Joey Rouken’s thought-provoking 365—365 measures of beguiling twists and turns that take on different guises, from impressionistlike textures to minimalist passages, and references to pop and jazz. And at the end of work, listeners arrive exactly at the point where the piece started... not unlike a year cycle of 365 days. Concertgoers will receive a special treat as the virtuosic Lang Lang returns to San Diego, performing Saint-Saëns' stunning Piano Concerto No. 2.

Rafael Payare

Lang Lang

Photo credits: Sir Stephen Hough –Sim Cannety-Clark; Michael Tilson Thomas –courtesy of San Francisco Symphony; Rafael PayareJ. Henry Fair; Lang Lang –Olaf Heine/Deutsche Grammophon

THE FIREBIRD

Sunday, Apr 14, 2024

Otto Tausk, conductor

Joey Roukens: 365

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite

Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird (1945 Version)

Soar through a mythical story of princes and princesses, magic and heroics as Dutch conductor Otto Tausk leads Stravinsky’s enchanting Firebird Suite. The program opens with Joey Rouken’s thought-provoking 365 365 measures of beguiling twists and turns that bring you back to where it all began. Enjoy the beloved Swan Lake Suite by Tchaikovsky, for an afternoon of iconic masterworks of music for ballet.

AN EVENING WITH YO-YO MA

SPECIAL EVENT

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Rafael Payare, conductor Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Wagner: Siegfried's Death and Funeral Music from Götterdämmerung

Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor

The transcendent cellist Yo-Yo Ma performs Elgar’s achingly beautiful concerto, one of the most wellknown and revered of cello concertos, in this onenight-only performance. Written near the end of WWI, Elgar’s valedictory work is a searing response at once both tender and pained.

Rafael Payare leads the Orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s passionate 5th Symphony, an emotion-filled journey rife with brilliant melody.

Yo-Yo Ma

Otto Tausk

BEETHOVEN’S EROICA

Saturday, May 11 & Sunday, May 12, 2024

Rafael Payare, conductor

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Sofia Gubaidulina: Fairytale Poem

Ravel: Piano Concerto

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in EL Major, "Eroica"

Rafael Payare leads this brilliant Romanticmeets-Modern program that opens with Sofia Gubaidulina's dynamic Fairytale Poem. JeanYves Thibaudet brings his dazzling style and theatricality to 20th-century composer Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto. The second half features Beethoven’s towering Symphony No. 3—an ode to heroism, revolution and freedom. The “Eroica” is considered by many to be the greatest of not just Beethoven's symphonies, but the greatest symphony of all time.

BRAHMS AND MENDELSSOHN

Saturday, May 18 & Sunday, May 19, 2024

Rafael Payare, conductor

Daniel Lozakovich, violin

Brahms: Tragic Overture

Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor

Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major

Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto is a beloved showcase for soloistic lyricism and virtuosity, and will be the vehicle for Daniel Lozakovich in his San Diego Symphony debut. Rafael Payare leads soloist Daniel Lozakovich and the symphony in this dynamic program that opens with Brahms’s intense Tragic Overture and closes with the warmth and grandeur of his Symphony No. 2, the second in our cycle of Brahms’ symphonies.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Daniel Lozakovich

Photo credits: Yo-Yo Ma –Jason Bell; Otto Tausk –Valerie Spanjers; Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Andrew Eccles; Daniel LozakovichJ ohan Sandberg/Deutsche Grammophon

BEETHOVEN AND STRAUSS

Friday, May 24 & Saturday, May 25, 2024

Rafael Payare, conductor Jeremy Denk, piano

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

Beethoven introduced his captivating Piano Concerto No. 4 to public audiences in a legendary concert that also premiered his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies. Soloist Jeremy Denk, hailed by The New York Times as “a pianist you want to hear no matter what he performs” joins Music Director Rafael Payare and the Symphony for this brilliant program to close the season. The second half features Strauss’s evocative and sweeping Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life). A tone poem of epic proportions, Ein Heldenleben is one of the most inspiring pieces ever composed for orchestra and one of the most challenging, with substantial technical demands for every instrument.

The University Club atop Symphony Towers is pleased to offer pre-concert prix-fixe dinners to subscribers on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Experience true fine dining in San Diego with an unprecedented view. The University Club's renowned executive chef and experienced culinary team offer extraordinary seasonal menu items featuring only the freshest of ingredients.

Photo credit: Josh Goleman

Jeremy Denk

A CELEBRATION OF THE OPENING OF JACOBS MUSIC CENTER

OPENING NIGHT

TO INCLUDE RECEPTION, OPENING NIGHT CONCERT, DINNER AND MORE

SAVE THE DATE

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4 5:00 PM

LIVING COMPOSERS and COMMISSIONED WORKS

The San Diego Symphony is a fierce proponent of innovation and showcasing new works in the thriving classical music art form. Throughout the 2023-24 season, we will feature several world premieres, many of which were commissioned by the San Diego Symphony.

Opening night of the season starts out with a fanfare written to commemorate the renovated Jacobs Music Center Copley Hall by San Diego resident, Texu Kim, and the West Coast Premiere of a new saxophone concerto, cocommissioned by San Diego Symphony, by composer and jazz pianist, Billy Childs, with

soloist Steven Banks, that explores aspects of the African-American experience in America as expressed through the lens of poets such as Langston Hughes, Claude McKay and Amiri Baraka. November continues with new works by Carlos Simon and Vladimir Tarnopolsky, performed as part of the California Festival (see page 13 for more information).

Concerts on January 13 and 14 open with Anna Clyne’s This Midnight Hour, inspired by the character and power of the lower strings and drawing imagery from two poems to evoke a visual journey for the listener. January

Sofia Gubaidulina

Texu Kim

Miguel Farías

Carlos Simon

Joey Roukens

Gabriela Ortiz

Mason Bates

Billy Childs

Caroline Shaw

Nicolás Lell Benavides

Vladimir Tarnopolsky

Gity Razaz

Jessie Montgomery Arturo Márquez

Anna Clyne

continues with Chilean composer Miguel Farías’ Estallido, or explosion, written in the months after a social revolt in Chile in October 2019. Farías describes in the work “a constant energy. This idea of something that does not give more and must explode.”

Two new concertos are featured in February. Latin Grammy® Award-nominated Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz’s Trumpet Concerto receives its West Coast Premiere with soloist Pacho Flores on February 16 and 17. Mason Bates’ new Violin Concerto, which incorporates elements of Romani music, receives its West Coast Premiere on February 24 and 25 with violinist Gil Shaham.

The Masterworks season culminates with two works that stretch the imagination.

Dutch composer Joey Roukens’ 365 in April takes the listener on a journey over exactly 365 measures, passing through ethereal, impressionistic textures, to an almost Mahlerian rhetoric, to minimalist passages with references to pop and jazz, eventually ending exactly at the point where the piece started (not unlike a calendar year).

Sofia Gubaidulina’s 1971 Fairytale Poem was written originally for a children’s radio program based on the fairy tale, “The Little Piece of Chalk,” by the Czech writer Mazourek. The main character is a small piece of chalk that dreams of drawing wonderful castles and beautiful gardens with pavilions and the sea.

Our new series, Currents, is an interdisciplinary chamber music series featuring artists that are exploring the depth of our identities.

The series opens in November with Difficult Grace, a multimedia semi-autobiographical exploration of identity, past/present histories

and personal growth drawing inspiration from the Great Migration. Cellist Seth Parker Woods and choreographer/dancer Roderick

George perform music written by Freida Abtan, Monty Adkins, Fredrick Gifford, Ted Hearne, Devonté Hynes a.k.a Blood Orange, Nathalie Joachim, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, and Pierre Alexandre Tremblay.

The next installment of the Currents series in January features the one act chamber opera Tres Minutos composed and conducted by Nicolás Lell Benavides with libretto by Marella Martin Koch. Inspired by a real program that reunites families separated by immigration policies at the U.S.-Mexico Border, but only for three minutes.

The final concert on the Currents series in March is a concert curated by IranianAmerican composer Gity Razaz of music honoring the mystical beauty of Persian culture and the power of women to shape history both past and present.

Each of our Family Concert Series also features works by living composers, starting in November with Jessie Montgomery’s Because, A Symphony of Serendipity, which brings to life Mo Williems' award-winning children’s book, Because, and Arturo Márquez’s Conga del Fuego which is a fiery adventure that uses conga rhythms in an expression of joy.

The February Family Concert tells the story of friendship through Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw’s musical adaptation of The Mountain that Loved a Bird by Alice McLerran. In April, the Family Concert features Mason Bates' Philharmonia Fantastique, an animated film that follows a magical Sprite exploring the fundamental connections between music, sound, performance, creativity and technology.

Photo credits: Gabriela Ortiz – Mara Arteaga; Vladimir Tarnopolsky – Olimipia Orlova; Miguel Farías – Benjamin Matte; Carlos Simon – Terrance Ragland; Mason Bates – Todd Rosenberg; Anna Clyne – Christina Kernohan; Nicolás Lell Benavides - Vivian Sachs; Joey Roukens – Friso Keuris; Jessie Montgomery – Jiyang Chen; Caroline Shaw – Kait Moreno; Billy Childs – Raj Naik; Sofia Gubaidulia - F. Hoffman, La Roche Ltd.

Jazz @ the Jacobs

A TRIBUTE TO ELLA, BILLIE AND SARAH

Saturday, Nov 25, 2023 at 8:00PM

Champian Fulton, vocals Mary Stallings, vocals

Additional artists to be announced.

You'll have “the world on a string” as we pay tribute to three of the most iconic divas in all of jazz in this tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan. Our first jazz concert in the “new” Jacobs Music Center.

MILES DAVIS: KIND OF BLUE

Saturday, Feb 3, 2024 at 8:00PM

Gilbert Castellanos, trumpet

Additional artists to be announced.

One of the greatest albums of all time and the best-selling jazz album ever, Miles Davis' masterpiece Kind of Blue is as relevant and revered today as when it was recorded in 1959. Join Gil and his band as they celebrate this seminal recording by Davis and his all-star band.

See page 48 for Jazz @ the Jacobs pricing information.

PIANO PARAGONS: THE MUSIC OF MONK, POWELL, TATUM AND COREA

Saturday, May 4, 2024 at 8:00PM

Artists to be announced.

Spanning almost one hundred years of jazz piano styles from Tatum's “stride” to Corea's inventive fusion and everything in between, join us for a concert that will have you tapping out rhythms for days.

Gilbert Castellanos

Photo by Michele Zousmer

Bring your family together to build musical memories with the San Diego Symphony. In these one-hour performances, your kiddos will love singing, listening and dancing along with the orchestra across this playful series of concerts that brings storybooks to the stage alongside your favorite symphonic tunes.

BECAUSE: A SYMPHONY OF SERENDIPITY

Sunday, Nov 5, 2023 at 12:00PM

Be inspired as you sing, dance, and read along with the orchestra in this energetic and heart-warming performance that features George Gershwin’s American classic Rhapsody in Blue. The San Diego Symphony brings Mo Willems' awardwinning book Because to life, with music written by Jessie Montgomery, and MexicanAmerican composer Arturo Márquez's Conga del Fuego is a fiery adventure that uses conga rhythms in an expression of joy that is big in character and drive!

Extend your experience! Join us one hour early for pre-concert activities featuring crafts and instrument exploration, free with ticket purchase.

Family concerts are programmed for families with children ages 12 and under.

THE MOUNTAIN THAT LOVED A BIRD

Saturday, Feb 3, 2024 at 11:30AM

Wake up to Grieg’s glorious Morning Mood, then sneak amongst the trolls In the Hall of the Mountain King before transporting yourself into a timeless story about friendship in composer and Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw’s musical adaptation of The Mountain that Loved a Bird by Alice McLerran and set to Eric Carle’s colorful collage illustrations.

PHILHARMONIA FANTASTIQUE

Saturday, Apr 27, 2024 at 11:30AM

Meet the instruments! The concert begins with a classic introduction to the instruments in Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Then, dynamic concerto meets animated film in Mason Bates' Philharmonia Fantastique. Guided by a magical Sprite, you'll explore the fundamental connections between music, sound, performance, creativity and technology.

Philharmonia Fantastique

CURRENTS: WHERE MUSIC MEETS OUR WORLD

Experience the soundtrack of now. This new interdisciplinary chamber music series features artists that are exploring the depth of our identities—the search for it, the celebration of it, the ways we fight for it, and the courage sometimes needed to express it.

DIFFICULT GRACE

Tuesday Nov 28, 2023 at 7:30PM

Seth Parker Woods, cello Roderick George, dancer/ choreographer

Difficult Grace is a multimedia concert tour de force conceived by and featuring Seth Parker Woods in the triple role of cellist, narrator/ guide and movement artist. Heightened by film, spoken text, dance and visual artwork, Difficult Grace is a semiautobiographical exploration of identity, past/present histories and personal growth that draws inspiration from the Great Migration, the historic newspaper The Chicago Defender, immigration and the poetry of Kemi Alabi and Dudley Randall.

TRES MINUTOS

Saturday Jan 5, 2024 at 7:30PM

Music by Nicolás Lell Benavides

Libretto by Marella Martin Koch

Musicians of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra

Where do we belong? Inspired by a real program that reunites families separated by immigration policies at the U.S.-Mexico Border, but only for three minutes, Tres minutos by composer Nicolás Lell Benavides and librettist Marella Martin Koch imagines the story of Diego and Nila, a brother and sister who share DNA but not citizenship. When Diego is deported, leaving Nila behind, questions of identity, duty and belonging threaten to consume them.

A co-production with Music of Remembrance.

THE WONDERS WE CARRY INSIDE

Wednesday Mar 20, 2024 at 7:30PM

Gity Razaz, composer & curator

Musicians of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra

Hailed by The New York Times as “ravishing and engulfing,” Iranian-American composer Gity Razaz curates an evening of music honoring the mystical beauty of Persian culture and the power of women to shape history both past and present. Poetry and music weave together to guide us through this ancient celebration of reflection and renewal at the spring equinox.

This program is in support of Women, Life, Freedom.

Photo credits: San Diego Symphony Orchestra –Gary Payne; Difficult GraceBailey Holiver

Gity Razaz

FRIDAY A | Full Series - 10 Performances | 8:00PM

Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring California Festival

Rafael Payare, conductor

Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite

Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 7

Vladimir Tarnopolsky: Danse Macabre (World Premiere, SDS Commission)

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

American Masterpieces: The Music of Dvořák and Dawson

Joshua Weilerstein, conductor

William Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony

Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”

Hadelich Plays Sibelius

Paolo Bortolameolli, conductor

Augustin Hadelich, violin

Miguel Farías: Estallido

Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, “Pathétique”

Payare Leads Mozart and Bruckner

Rafael Payare, conductor

Mozart: Symphony No. 29 in A Major

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major

Ravel, Debussy, and Ortiz

Rafael Payare, conductor

Pacho Flores, trumpet

Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin

Gabriela Ortiz: Altar de bronce (West Coast Premiere, SDS Co-commission)

Ravel: La valse

Debussy: Images

Pictures at an Exhibition

Ludovic Morlot, conductor

Andrea Overturf, English horn

Barber: Second Essay for Orchestra

Rorem: Concerto for English Horn

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2

Sir Mark Elder, conductor

Sir Stephen Hough, piano

Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite from The Tale of Tsar Saltan

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor

Fri Nov 17 8:00PM

Fri Dec 1 8:00PM

Fri Jan 19 8:00PM

Fri Jan 26 8:00PM

Fri Feb 16 8:00PM

Fri Mar 1 8:00PM

Fri Mar 15 8:00PM

FRIDAY A | Full Series (continued)

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet – Imagined!

Rafael Payare, conductor

Gerard McBurney, director

Schumann: Symphony No. 1 in BL Major, “Spring”

Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet

Lang Lang Plays Saint-Saëns

Otto Tausk, conductor

Lang Lang, piano

Joey Roukens: 365

Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2

Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird (1945 Version)

Beethoven and Strauss

Rafael Payare, conductor

Jeremy Denk, piano

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major

R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

Fri Mar 29 8:00PM

Fri Apr 12 8:00PM

Fri May 24 8:00PM

Photo credit: Gary Payne

FRIDAY B | 5 Performances | 8:00PM

Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring California Festival

Rafael Payare, conductor

Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite

Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 7

Vladimir Tarnopolsky: Danse Macabre (World Premiere, SDS Commission)

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

Hadelich Plays Sibelius

Paolo Bortolameolli, conductor

Augustin Hadelich, violin

Miguel Farías: Estallido

Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, “Pathétique”

Ravel, Debussy, and Ortiz

Rafael Payare, conductor

Pacho Flores, trumpet

Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin

Gabriela Ortiz: Altar de bronce (West Coast Premiere, SDS Co-commission)

Ravel: La valse

Debussy: Images

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2

Sir Mark Elder, conductor

Sir Stephen Hough, piano

Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite from The Tale of Tsar Saltan

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor

Lang Lang Plays Saint-Saëns

Otto Tausk, conductor

Lang Lang, piano

Joey Roukens: 365

Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2

Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird (1945 Version)

Pricing

Fri Nov 17 8:00PM

Fri Jan 19 8:00PM

Fri Feb 16 8:00PM

Fri Mar 15 8:00PM

Fri Apr 12 8:00PM

FRIDAY C | 5 Performances | 8:00PM

American Masterpieces: The Music of Dvořák and Dawson

Joshua Weilerstein, conductor

William Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony

Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”

Payare Leads Mozart and Bruckner

Rafael Payare, conductor

Mozart: Symphony No. 29 in A Major

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major

Pictures at an Exhibition

Ludovic Morlot, conductor

Andrea Overturf, English horn

Barber: Second Essay for Orchestra

Rorem: Concerto for English Horn

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet – Imagined!

Rafael Payare, conductor

Gerard McBurney, director

Schumann: Symphony No. 1 in BL Major, “Spring”

Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet

Beethoven and Strauss

Rafael Payare, conductor

Jeremy Denk, piano

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major

R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

Fri Dec 1 8:00PM

Fri Jan 26 8:00PM

Fri Mar 1 8:00PM

Fri Mar 29 8:00PM

Fri May 24 8:00PM

Sir Mark Elder Paolo Bortolameolli

Photo credits: Paolo Bortolameolli –Marco Borrelli; Sir Mark Elder–BGE

Resurrection and Renewal: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2

California Festival

Rafael Payare, conductor

Angela Meade, soprano

Anna Larsson, mezzo-soprano

San Diego Symphony Festival Choir

Carlos Simon: New Work (SDS Commission)

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor, “Resurrection”

Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring California Festival

Rafael Payare, conductor

Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite; Villa-Lobos: Bachianas

Brasileiras No. 7; Vladimir Tarnopolsky: Danse Macabre (World Premiere); Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

American Masterpieces: The Music of Dvořák and Dawson

Joshua Weilerstein, conductor

William Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony

Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”

Bach's Concerto for Violin and Oboe

Edo de Waart, conductor

Jeff Thayer, violin

Sarah Skuster, oboe

Brahms: Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn; J.S. Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor; Fauré: Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande; Elgar: Enigma Variations

Lisiecki Plays Mozart

Tianyi Lu, conductor

Jan Lisiecki, piano

Anna Clyne: This Midnight Hour; Mozart: Piano Concerto in D minor; R. Strauss: Aus Italien

Hadelich Plays Sibelius

Paolo Bortolameolli, conductor

Augustin Hadelich, violin

Miguel Farías: Estallido; Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor;

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, “Pathétique”

Payare Leads Mozart and Bruckner

Rafael Payare, conductor

Mozart: Symphony No. 29 in A Major

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major

Ravel, Debussy, and Ortiz

Rafael Payare, conductor

Pacho Flores, trumpet

Sat Nov 11 8:00PM

Sat Nov 18 8:00PM

Sat Dec 2 8:00PM

Sat Dec 9 8:00PM

Sat Jan 27 8:00PM

Sat Feb 17 8:00PM

SATURDAY A | Full Series (continued)

Shaham Plays Bates' Violin Concerto

Rafael Payare, conductor

Gil Shaham, violin

Mason Bates: Violin Concerto (West Coast Premiere)

Wagner: Ring Without Words

Pictures at an Exhibition

Ludovic Morlot, conductor

Andrea Overturf, English horn

Barber: Second Essay for Orchestra; Rorem: Concerto for English

Horn; Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2

Sir Mark Elder, conductor

Sir Stephen Hough, piano

Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite from The Tale of Tsar Saltan

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor

Michael Tilson Thomas and Sibelius

Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone

Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D minor; Michael Tilson Thomas:

Selections from Meditations on Rilke; Michael Tilson Thomas: Street

Song; Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C Major

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet – Imagined!

Rafael Payare, conductor

Gerard McBurney, director

Schumann: Symphony No. 1 in BL Major, “Spring”

Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet

Beethoven's Eroica

Rafael Payare, conductor

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Sofia Gubaidulina: Fairytale Poem; Ravel: Piano Concerto;

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in BL Major, “Eroica”

Brahms and Mendelssohn

Rafael Payare, conductor

Daniel Lozakovich, violin

Brahms: Tragic Overture; Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor;

Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major

Beethoven and Strauss

Rafael Payare, conductor

Jeremy Denk, piano

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major

R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

Sat Feb 24 8:00PM

Sat Mar 2 8:00PM

Sat Mar 16 8:00PM

Sat Mar 23 8:00PM

Sat Mar 30 8:00PM

Sat May 11 8:00PM

Sat May 18 8:00PM

Sat May 25 6:00PM

SATURDAY B | 8 Performances | 8:00PM unless noted

Resurrection and Renewal: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2

California Festival

Rafael Payare, conductor; Angela Meade, soprano; Anna Larsson, mezzo-soprano; California Festival Chorus

Carlos Simon: New Work (SDS Commission)

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor, “Resurrection”

American Masterpieces: The Music of Dvořák and Dawson

Joshua Weilerstein, conductor

William Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony

Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”

Lisiecki Plays Mozart

Tianyi Lu, conductor; Jan Lisiecki, piano

Anna Clyne: This Midnight Hour; Mozart: Piano Concerto in D

minor; R. Strauss: Aus Italien

Payare Leads Mozart and Bruckner

Rafael Payare, conductor

Mozart: Symphony No. 29 in A Major

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major

Shaham Plays Bates' Violin Concerto

Rafael Payare, conductor; Gil Shaham, violin

Mason Bates: Violin Concerto (West Coast Premiere)

Wagner: Ring Without Words

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2

Sir Mark Elder, conductor; Sir Stephen Hough, piano

Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite from The Tale of Tsar Saltan

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet – Imagined!

Rafael Payare, conductor; Gerard McBurney, director

Schumann: Symphony No. 1 in BL Major, “Spring”

Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet

Brahms and Mendelssohn

Rafael Payare, conductor; Daniel Lozakovich, violin

Brahms: Tragic Overture; Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E

minor; Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major

Sat Nov 11 8:00PM

Sat Dec 2 8:00PM

Sat Jan 13 8:00PM

Sat Jan 27 8:00 PM

Sat Feb 24 8:00PM

Sat Mar 16 8:00PM

Sat Mar 30 8:00PM

Sat May 18 8:00PM

SATURDAY C | 8 Performances | 8:00PM unless

Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring California Festival

Rafael Payare, conductor

Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite; Villa-Lobos: Bachianas

Brasileiras No. 7; Vladimir Tarnopolsky: Danse Macabre (World Premiere, SDS Commission); Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

Bach's Concerto for Violin and Oboe

Edo de Waart, conductor; Jeff Thayer, violin; Sarah Skuster, oboe

Brahms: Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn; J.S. Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor; Fauré: Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande; Elgar: Enigma Variations

Hadelich Plays Sibelius

Paolo Bortolameolli, conductor; Augustin Hadelich, violin

Miguel Farías: Estallido; Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, “Pathétique”

Ravel, Debussy, and Ortiz

Rafael Payare, conductor; Pacho Flores, trumpet

Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin; Gabriela Ortiz: Altar de bronce (West Coast Premiere, SDS Co-commission); Ravel: La valse; Debussy: Images

Pictures at an Exhibition

Ludovic Morlot, conductor; Andrea Overturf, English horn

Barber: Second Essay for Orchestra

Rorem: Concerto for English Horn

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Michael Tilson Thomas and Sibelius

Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone

Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D minor; Michael Tilson Thomas: Selections from Meditations on Rilke; Michael Tilson Thomas: Street

Song; Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C Major

Beethoven's Eroica

Rafael Payare, conductor; Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Sofia Gubaidulina: Fairytale Poem; Ravel: Piano Concerto; Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in BL Major, “Eroica”

Beethoven and Strauss

Rafael Payare, conductor; Jeremy Denk, piano

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major

R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

noted

Sat Nov 18 8:00PM

Sat Dec 9 8:00PM

Sat Jan 20 8:00PM

Sat Feb 17 8:00PM

Sat Mar 2 8:00PM

Sat Mar 23 8:00PM

Sat May 11 8:00PM

Sat May 25 6:00PM

Resurrection and Renewal: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2

California Festival

Rafael Payare, conductor

Angela Meade, soprano

Anna Larsson, mezzo-soprano

California Festival Chorus

Carlos Simon: New Work (SDS Commission)

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor, “Resurrection”

Bach's Concerto for Violin and Oboe

Edo de Waart, conductor

Jeff Thayer, violin

Sarah Skuster, oboe

Brahms: Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn; J.S. Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor; Fauré: Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande; Elgar: Enigma Variations

Lisiecki Plays Mozart

Tianyi Lu, conductor

Jan Lisiecki, piano

Anna Clyne: This Midnight Hour; Mozart: Piano Concerto in D minor; R. Strauss: Aus Italien

Hadelich Plays Sibelius

Paolo Bortolameolli, conductor

Augustin Hadelich, violin

Miguel Farías: Estallido; Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, “Pathétique”

Shaham Plays Bates' Violin Concerto

Rafael Payare, conductor

Gil Shaham, violin

Mason Bates: Violin Concerto (West Coast Premiere)

Wagner: Ring Without Words

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2

Sir Mark Elder, conductor

Sir Stephen Hough, piano

Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite from The Tale of Tsar Saltan

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor

Michael Tilson Thomas and Sibelius

Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor

Dashon Burton, bass-baritone

Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D minor; Michael Tilson Thomas: Selections from Meditations on Rilke; Michael Tilson Thomas: Street Song; Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C Major

Sun Nov 12 2:00PM

Sun Dec 10 2:00PM

Sun Jan 14 2:00PM

Sun Jan 21 2:00PM

Sun Feb 25 2:00PM

Sun Mar 17 2:00PM

Sun Mar 24 2:00PM

Sunday A | Full Series (continued)

The Firebird

Otto Tausk, conductor

Joey Roukens: 365

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite

Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird (1945 Version)

Beethoven's Eroica

Rafael Payare, conductor

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Sofia Gubaidulina: Fairytale Poem

Ravel: Piano Concerto

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in BL Major, “Eroica”

Brahms and Mendelssohn

Rafael Payare, conductor

Daniel Lozakovich, violin

Brahms: Tragic Overture

Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor

Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major

Sun Apr 14 2:00PM

Sun May 12 2:00PM

Sun May 19 2:00PM

Photo credit: Gary Payne

Sunday B | 5 Performances | 2:00PM

Resurrection and Renewal: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2

California Festival

Rafael Payare, conductor

Angela Meade, soprano

Anna Larsson, mezzo-soprano

California Festival Chorus

Carlos Simon: New Work (SDS Commission)

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor, “Resurrection”

Lisiecki Plays Mozart

Tianyi Lu, conductor

Jan Lisiecki, piano

Anna Clyne: This Midnight Hour; Mozart: Piano Concerto in D minor; R. Strauss: Aus Italien

Michael Tilson Thomas and Sibelius

Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor

Dashon Burton, bass-baritone

Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D minor; Michael Tilson Thomas: Selections from Meditations on Rilke; Michael Tilson Thomas: Street Song; Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C Major

The Firebird

Otto Tausk, conductor

Joey Roukens: 365; Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite; Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird (1945 Version)

Beethoven's Eroica

Rafael Payare, conductor

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Sofia Gubaidulina: Fairytale Poem; Ravel: Piano Concerto

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in BL Major, “Eroica”

Sun Nov 12 2:00PM

Sun Jan 14 2:00PM

Sun Mar 24 2:00PM

Sun Apr 14 2:00PM

Sun May 12 2:00PM

Angela Meade Dashon Burton

Sunday C | 5 Performances | 2:00PM

Bach's Concerto for Violin and Oboe

Edo de Waart, conductor

Jeff Thayer, violin

Sarah Skuster, oboe

Brahms: Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn; J.S. Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor; Fauré: Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande; Elgar: Enigma Variations

Hadelich Plays Sibelius

Paolo Bortolameolli, conductor

Augustin Hadelich, violin

Miguel Farías: Estallido; Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, “Pathétique”

Shaham Plays Bates' Violin Concerto

Rafael Payare, conductor

Gil Shaham, violin

Mason Bates: Violin Concerto (West Coast Premiere)

Wagner: Ring Without Words

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2

Sir Mark Elder, conductor

Sir Stephen Hough, piano

Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite from The Tale of Tsar Saltan

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor

Brahms and Mendelssohn

Rafael Payare, conductor

Daniel Lozakovich, violin

Brahms: Tragic Overture; Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E mino;r

Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major

Sun Dec 10 2:00PM

Sun Jan 21 2:00PM

Sun Feb 25 2:00PM

Sun Mar 17 2:00PM

Sun May 19 2:00PM

Jan Lisiecki

Anna Larsson

Photo credits: Angela Meade

Faye Fox; Dashon Burton –Tatiana Daubek; Jan Lisiecki –Christoph Köstlir/Deutsche Grammaphon; A nna Larsson –Anna Thorbjörnsson

SPECIAL EVENT

Friday, Dec 8, 2023 at 8:00PM

Known for their dramatic blend of rock and electronic music with orchestral arrangements, The Airborne Toxic Event skyrocketed to popularity with the Gold-selling

single from the band’s self-titled 2008 debut album, a song which spent a staggering eight weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart. Since then, The Airborne Toxic Event has played a diverse spectrum of concerts, from performing with the San Francisco Symphony and Colorado Symphony at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre, to playing at the Coachella and Lollapalooza music festivals.

Lead singer and songwriter Mikel Jollett’s New York Times-bestselling memoir Hollywood Park was released in 2020 to critical acclaim from The Wall Street Journal, NPR and even Oprah’s O Magazine

Be there when The Airborne Toxic Event makes their debut with the San Diego Symphony in an electrifying concert you won’t want to miss.

Ticket prices from $29; priority access available to subscribers as an add-on. See order form or contact the ticket office for additional information.

SPECIAL EVENT

Sunday, Mar 10, 2024 at 7:30PM

Get ready to rock ‘n roll down memory lane with an evening of music and memories straight from the radio featuring the biggest pop songs of all time. Groove along to over eight decades of chart-topping hits from the greatest names in music history including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Carole King, Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga, Elton John, Adele and more.

Bruce Kiesling, conductor San Diego Symphony Orchestra

Music belongs to all of us.

The San Diego Symphony belongs to all of San Diego.

Your support is an investment in the power of music to enrich our community.

Programming

The San Diego Symphony Orchestra is an ambassador for our city, and under the leadership of Music Director Rafael Payare, we are reaching new audiences with more performances and at more locations. The San Diego Symphony presents music of the highest quality for all of San Diego and provides lifechanging community and learning programs throughout our city and region.

Your support ensures the future of the San Diego Symphony and its world-class musicians by serving all of San Diego's diverse communities with transformative musical experiences.

Please Support Your Orchestra and Our Community

We invite you to make a gift today and be a part of a generous group of San Diegans who believe in the importance of music and community.

To donate, please visit us at SanDiegoSymphony.org and tap/click "Give Now."

ORCHESTRA SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY

VIOLIN

Jeff Thayer

Concertmaster

DEBORAH PATE AND JOHN FORREST CHAIR

Wesley Precourt

Associate Concertmaster

Jisun Yang

Assistant Concertmaster

Alexander Palamidis

Principal Second Violin

Nick Grant

Principal Associate

Concertmaster Emeritus

Cherry Choi Tung Yeung

Associate Principal Second Violin

Ai Nihira Awata

Jing Yan Bowcott

Yumi Cho

Hernan Constantino

Alicia Engley

Kathryn Hatmaker

Kenneth Liao

Igor Pandurski

Evan Pasternak

Julia Pautz

Yeh Shen

Xiaoxuan Shi

Edmund Stein

Hanah Stuart

John Stubbs

Pei-Chun Tsai

Zou Yu

VIOLA

Chi-Yuan Chen

Principal

KAREN AND WARREN KESSLER CHAIR

Nancy Lochner

Associate Principal

Jason Karlyn

Wanda Law

Qing Liang

Abraham Martín

Johanna Nowik

Ethan Pernela

Rachel Halvorson*

RAFAEL PAYARE Music Director

EDO DE WAART Principal Guest Conductor

JAHJA LING Conductor Laureate

* Long Term Substitute Musician + Staff Opera Musician

The musicians of the San Diego Symphony are members of San Diego County, Local 325, American Federation of Musicians, AFL-CIO.

CELLO

Yao Zhao

Principal

Chia-Ling Chien

Associate Principal

Marcia Bookstein

Andrew Hayhurst

John Lee

Richard Levine

Mary Oda Szanto

Nathan Walhout

Xian Zhuo

BASS

Jeremy Kurtz-Harris

Principal

SOPHIE AND ARTHUR BRODY FOUNDATION CHAIR

Susan Wulff

Associate Principal

Aaron Blick

P.J. Cinque

Kaelan Decman

Kevin Gobetz

Samuel Hager

Michael Wais

Margaret Johnston+

FLUTE

Rose Lombardo

Principal

Sarah Tuck

Lily Josefsberg

PICCOLO

Lily Josefsberg

OBOE

Sarah Skuster

Principal

Rodion Belousov

Andrea Overturf

ENGLISH HORN

Andrea Overturf

DR. WILLIAM AND EVELYN LAMDEN ENGLISH HORN CHAIR

CLARINET

Sheryl Renk Principal

Max Opferkuch

Frank Renk

BASS CLARINET

Frank Renk

BASSOON

Valentin Martchev Principal

Ryan Simmons

Leyla Zamora

CONTRABASSOON

Leyla Zamora

HORN

Benjamin Jaber Principal

Darby Hinshaw

Assistant Principal & Utility

Tricia Skye

Douglas Hall

Mike McCoy*

TRUMPET

Christopher Smith

Principal

Ray Nowak

TROMBONE

Kyle R. Covington

Principal

Logan Chopyk

Kyle Mendiguchia

BASS TROMBONE

Kyle Mendiguchia

TUBA

Aaron McCalla Principal

HARP

Julie Smith Phillips Principal

TIMPANI

Ryan J. DiLisi Principal

Andrew Watkins

Assistant Principal

PERCUSSION

Gregory Cohen Principal

Erin Douglas Dowrey

Andrew Watkins

PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN

Courtney Secoy Cohen

LIBRARIAN

Rachel Fields

JACOBS MASTERWORKS SERIES AND SPECIALS

Date Concert

Sat Nov 4, 2023

CALIFORNIA FESTIVAL

Sat, Nov 11, 2023

Sun Nov 12, 2023

CALIFORNIA FESTIVAL

Fri, Nov 17, 2023

Sat, Nov 18, 2023

CALIFORNIA FESTIVAL

Fri, Dec 1, 2023

Sat, Dec 2, 2023

Sat, Dec 9, 2023

Sun, Dec 10, 2023

Sat, Jan 13, 2024

Sun, Jan 14, 2024

Fri, Jan 19, 2024

Sat, Jan 20, 2024

Sun, Jan 21, 2024

Fri, Jan 26, 2024

Sat, Jan 27, 2024

Fri, Feb 16, 2024

Sat, Feb 17, 2024

Sun, Feb 18, 2024 (McCallum)

Sat, Feb 24, 2024

Sun, Feb 25, 2024

Fri, Mar 1, 2024

Sat, Mar 2, 2024

Fri, Mar 15, 2024

Sat, Mar 16, 2024

Sun, Mar 17, 2024

Sat, Mar 23, 2024

Sun, Mar 24, 2024

Fri, Mar 29, 2024

Sat, Mar 30, 2024

Fri, Apr 12, 2024

Sun, Apr 14, 2024

Rafael Payare, conductor; Steven Banks, saxophone; Liv Redpath, soprano

Texu Kim: Welcome Home!! Fanfare for Jacobs Music Center (World Premiere, SDS Commission);

R. Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks; Billy Childs: Saxophone Concerto (West Coast Premiere, SDS Co-commission);

Mozart: Exsultate jubilate; Debussy: La mer

Rafael Payare, conductor; Angela Meade, soprano; Anna Larsson, mezzo-soprano; California Festival Chorus

Carlos Simon: New Work (SDS Commission); Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor, “Resurrection”

Rafael Payare, conductor

Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite; Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 7; Vladimir Tarnopolsky: Danse Macabre (World Premiere, SDS Commission); Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

Joshua Weilerstein, conductor

William Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony; Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”

Edo de Waart, conductor; Jeff Thayer, violin; Sarah Skuster, oboe

Brahms: Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn; J.S. Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor; Fauré: Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande; Elgar: Enigma Variations

Tianyi Lu, conductor; Jan Lisiecki, piano

Anna Clyne: This Midnight Hour; Mozart: Piano Concerto in D minor; R. Strauss: Aus Italien

Paolo Bortolameolli, conductor; Augustin Hadelich, violin

Miguel Farías: Estallido; Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, “Pathétique

Rafael Payare, conductor

Mozart: Symphony No. 29 in A Major; Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major

Rafael Payare, conductor; Pacho Flores, trumpet Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin; Gabriela Ortiz: Altar de bronce (West Coast Premiere, SDS Co-commission); Ravel: La valse; Debussy: Images

Rafael Payare, conductor; Gil Shaham, violin Mason Bates: Violin Concerto (West Coast Premiere); Wagner: Ring Without Words

Ludovic Morlot, conductor; Andrea Overturf, English horn Barber: Second Essay for Orchestra; Rorem: Concerto for English Horn; Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Sir Mark Elder, conductor; Sir Stephen Hough, piano

Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite from The Tale of Tsar Saltan; Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2; Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor

Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone

Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D minor; Michael Tilson Thomas: Selections from Meditations on Rilke; Michael Tilson Thomas: Street Song; Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C Major

Rafael Payare, conductor; Gerard McBurney, director

Schumann: Symphony No. 1 in BL Major, “Spring”; Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet

Otto Tausk, conductor; Lang Lang, piano

Joey Roukens: 365; Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2; Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird (1945 Version)

Otto Tausk, conductor

Joey Roukens: 365; Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite; Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird (1945 Version)

Tue, May 7, 2024

Sat, May 11, 2024

Sun, May 12, 2024

Sat, May 18, 2024

Sun, May 19, 2024

Fri, May 24, 2024

Sat, May 25, 2024

Rafael Payare, conductor; Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Wagner: Siegfried's Death and Funeral Music from Götterdämmerung; Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor

Rafael Payare, conductor; Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Sofia Gubaidulina: Fairytale Poem; Ravel: Piano Concerto; Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in BL Major, “Eroica”

Rafael Payare, conductor; Daniel Lozakovich, violin

Brahms: Tragic Overture; Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor; Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major

Rafael Payare, conductor; Jeremy Denk, piano

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major; R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

Jacobs Masterworks Series

Friday Full (A) (10 concerts)

Friday B (5 concerts)

Friday C (5 concerts)

Saturday Full (A) (16 concerts)

Saturday B (8 concerts)

Sunday Full (A) (10 concerts)

Sunday B (5 concerts)

Sunday C (5 concerts)

Saturday C (8 concerts) Jazz @ the Jacobs

Jacobs Music Center: Grand Opening Night†

An Evening with Yo-Yo Ma†

Lang Lang Plays Saint-Saëns

The Airborne Toxic Event†

Rock 'N Radio†

Any Jacobs Masterworks Concert*

Currents Concerts - General Admission

† Special Event, no discount available

* Discounted Subscriber Price. Does not include “Lang Lang Plays Saint-Saëns.”

How to Order

Visit our Website

Go to SanDiegoSymphony.org for step-by-step ordering.

Contact the Ticket Office

tickets@sandiegosymphony.org

(619) 235-0804

1245 7th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101

If you require any assistance, please contact the Ticket Office in advance to accommodate your ticketing needs.

HOURS:

Monday–Friday: 10AM to 6PM

Saturday–Sunday: 12PM to 5PM

Though the ticket office at Jacobs Music Center is closed for renovation, you may visit the ticket office at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park at 222 Marina Park Way.

Subscription and Add-On Seating

Seating assignmentswill be based on the following factors: A patron’s giving level, subscriber level, renewing paid subscriptions by date received and new paid subscriptions by date received.

Group Tickets

Experience the fun and savings when you bring your group of 10 or more! For more information, or to book your group today, please email groups@sandiegosymphony.org or call (619) 235-0804.

Wheelchair, companion, semi-ambulatory and transfer seats available by request.

JACOBS MASTERWORKS STAGE

SUBSCRIBER BENEFITS

Best Seats, Best Prices

Subscribers receive the first choice of seating for the concerts in their series, in addition to a substantial discount on their series tickets and most additional single tickets purchased throughout the season. Free ticket exchanges into most other subscription concerts are also available on full and half series packages.

VIP Access

Subscribers will have the same seats each time you attend a concert in your series. This is a great way to make new friends and share in the joy of live music. Subscribers receive priority access to purchase tickets for special and added concerts throughout the season, before they are available to the general public!

Premium Experience

New this year! Subscribers have the opportunity to reserve pre-concert prix-fixe dinners at the University Club atop Symphony Towers on Friday and Saturday nights!

SAN DIEGO BAYFRONT

Photo credit: Gary Payne

Subscribe now to the 2023-24 Season and our return to Jacobs Music Center

Welcome Back to Jacobs Music Center and a season of glorious music and stars including Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang, Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 and much more.