concerts and live music

Audiences will experience the return of Noel as she and her friends search for Santa and the magic that he brings with the season. New to this year’s performance will be featured guest vocalist Devin DeSantis. It’s a program full of Christmas classics, sing-alongs, holiday cheer and jolly spirit.

The concert will be led once again by the artistic tour-de-force team consisting of celebrated guest conductor Christopher Dragon and Director Jonathan Gilmer, and it features the return of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Master Chorale and the San Diego Children’s Choir.

Special Holiday-themed treats and drinks will be available for purchase in the Prebys Plaza!

Please note: Gates will open at 5:30pm for the Friday performance and will open at 3pm for the Saturday and Sunday performances.

Known for their dramatic blend of rock and electronic music with orchestral arrangements, The Airborne Toxic Event joins the San Diego Symphony in an electrifying concert you won’t want to miss!

The Airborne Toxic Event skyrocketed to popularity with the gold-selling single “Sometime Around Midnight” 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 naming it one of their memoirs of the year. In Hollywood Park, Jollett chronicles his extraordinary personal journey, from his early childhood in one of the most infamous cults of the 1970s, through a childhood of poverty and emotional abuse, before finding his voice as an artist amidst the confusion of an adult life spent nursing the wounds of childhood, and the redemption which came from looking inward and an acceptance of self and the fierce love of family.

SUPPORT

This concert presentation is sponsored by

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 a selection from his Bachianas brasileiras.

Gates open at 6pm.

This concert is part of The California Festival, a new, statewide music initiative showcasing the most compelling and forward-looking voices
in performances of works written in the past five years.

A night of epic music begins with Wake Up: A Concerto for Orchestra, a new piece by Grammy®-nominated composer, curator and activist Carlos Simon, commissioned by the San Diego Symphony. Music Director Rafael Payare also leads a sonic and visual expedition into Richard Wagner’s Ring Without Words, an ingenious synthesis of the composer’s 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.

Gates open at 6pm.

Immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of San Diego’s vibrant arts scene as we shine a spotlight on musical organizations that make our city a culturally rich community. The free California Festival Family & Community Day will showcase performances by the San Diego Youth Symphony, San Diego Master Chorale and Art of Elan. Don’t miss out – RSVP now and create cherished memories at the California Festival Family & Community Day. See you there!

This event begins at 12noon and lasts until 6pm. This is a FREE event for the whole family. Food, beverages (no alcohol), chairs and blankets may be brought in. Food and drink will also be available for purchase onsite.

SCHEDULE

12pm: San Diego Symphony
1:30pm: San Diego Youth Symphony
3pm: San Diego Master Chorale
4:30pm: Art of Elan

ARTISTS AND REPERTOIRE

Salk Institute Professor Greg Lemke, California Festival Family and Community Day MC

Rafael Payare, conductor
David Castillo, narrator
Members of the San Diego Symphony
San Diego Suzuki School of Music

William STARR: “Twinkle” from Variations on Suzuki Melodies
San Diego Suzuki School of Music
Carlos SIMON: Journey
Leopold MOZART: Kindersymphonie (“Toy Symphony”)
Jessie MONTGOMERY: Strum
Sergei PROKOFIEV: Peter and the Wolf

Sameer Patel, conductor
San Diego Youth Symphony

Johannes BRAHMS: Hungarian Dances No. 1 in G minor
Anna CLYNE: Restless Oceans
Andrea CASARRUBIOS: Anthem for Strings
Michael-Thomas FOUMAI: “The Happiest Color” from The Telling Rooms
Johannes BRAHMS: Hungarian Dances Nos. 5 & 6 (Arr. A. Parlow)

San Diego Master Chorale
Dr. John K. Russell, music director

Jean BERGER: Movement 4 from Vision of Peace
Jennifer Lucy COOK: “They are Mother”
Saunder CHOI: “The New Colossus”
Jocelyn HAGEN: “Where All Are Welcome” and “Sanctus” from amass
arr. Matthew BROWN: “True Colors”
arr. Zanaida ROBLES: “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing”

Art of Elan

Michael OESTERLE: Selections from Parlour Games
double
father
whilst
spade
run
Juhi BANSAL: Trail of Stars
Paul WIANCKO: Cities of Air
Carlos SIMON: Between Worlds
Nahre SOL: Crossroads (World Premiere)
Erberk ERYILMAZ: Raki Havasi

Music Director Rafael Payare and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra return for the 2023-2024 Jacobs Masterworks season with a jubilant and multifaceted program at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. The evening begins with Texu Kim’s Zzan!!, which means “cheers” in Korean and employs drinking glasses as percussion instruments. The evening continues with a couple of exciting NYC/Latino Abreu Danzas from American composer David Chesky. Billy Childs’ Saxophone Concerto, co-commissioned by the San Diego Symphony, with soloist Steven Banks, makes its West Coast Premiere. The second half of the evening features a World Premiere by Juan Colomer, A Casual Walk to Extinction, and Richard Strauss’ magnificent Also sprach Zarathustra, the fanfare of which was popularized in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Gates open at 6pm.

SUPPORT