San Diego Opera Receives Major Gift to Support San Diego Symphony Orchestra Partnership

San Diego Opera has received a $4.5 million commitment from philanthropist Irwin Jacobs to support the company’s collaboration with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. The gift, which will be donated over three years through the newly established Joan and Irwin Jacobs San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera Collaboration Fund, will aim to strengthen a decades-long partnership between the two {…}

Isabel Leonard & Liv Redpath Headline San Diego Symphony’s Season-Opening Performances

The San Diego Symphony will open its 2025–26 season with a performance honoring two of France’s most renowned composers. The showcase, which will be conducted by Music Director Rafael Payare, will feature Debussy’s “L’isle joyeuse,” Caplet’s orchestration of Debussy’s “La boîte à joujoux,” and a semi-staged presentation of Ravel’s “L’enfant et les sortilèges.” The latter will be headlined by mezzo-soprano {…}

Angela Meade, Liv Redpath, Dashon Burton, Anna Larson to Headline San Diego Symphony’s 2023-24 Season

San Diego Symphony has announced its 2023-24 season. For the purposes of this article, we will only focus on vocal and operatic performances. Jacobs Masterworks Season It all kicks off with Rafael Payare leading performances of Strauss’ “Til Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks,” the west coast premiere of Billy Children’s Saxophone Concerto,” Mozart’s “Exsutate, jubilate,” Debussy’s “La Mer,” and the world premiere {…}

Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal Appoints Rafael Payare as New Music Director

(Credit: Henry Fair) Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal has announced the appointment of Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare its new Music Director. Payare will start his five-year tenure during the 2022-23 season. The Venezuelan conductor will replace the famed conductor Kent Nagano, who has held the position since 2006. Payare graduated from the famous musical education program “El Sistema.” He won the {…}