San Diego Symphony to Return to Carnegie Hall for the First Time in Ten Years on October 13, 2023

SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY TO RETURN TO CARNEGIE HALL
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TEN YEARS ON OCTOBER 13, 2023

Rafael Payare Leads a Program Featuring Soloist Alisa Weilerstein in Dvorák’s
Cello Concerto, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, and the
New York Premiere of a Work Commissioned from Carlos Simon

Concert Will Precede the Grand Reopening of
San Diego Symphony’s Renovated Jacobs Music Center

San Diego, CA (April 11, 2023) – Continuing its rapid transformation under Music Director Rafael Payare and CEO Martha Gilmer, the San Diego Symphony will return after a long absence to its historic home at Jacobs Music Center in early 2024, preceded by a performance at Carnegie Hall on Friday, October 13, 2023. The concert will be the Orchestra’s first appearance at Carnegie Hall in ten years, in a program featuring the New York premiere of a San Diego Symphony commission by composer Carlos Simon, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5—part of the Orchestra’s ongoing exploration of the composer’s symphonies—and Dvorák’s celebrated Cello Concerto with soloist Alisa Weilerstein.

In 2021, the Symphony opened The Rady Shell, its much-lauded outdoor venue on San Diego’s picturesque waterfront. The Carnegie Hall appearance will be the lead-in to the highly anticipated, gala reopening during the 2023-2024 season at the Symphony’s Jacobs Music Center in Downtown San Diego after a period of renovation and enhancement.

Rafael Payare said, “For any orchestra, an appearance at Carnegie Hall is a thrilling showcase. For us, it is also the prelude to a return to San Diego to inaugurate our newly renovated home, Jacobs Music Center, now made more beautiful and enjoyable than ever.”

CEO Martha Gilmer said, “The orchestra is looking forward to returning to Carnegie Hall for the first time in ten years, playing for the discerning New York audience and in some of the best acoustics anywhere. I’m thrilled that we will get to showcase our incredible orchestra from the West Coast, and appropriately, this concert leads into the California Festival which shines a light on the innovation and creativity that is deeply rooted throughout California’s musical legacy.”

The Carnegie Hall concert will be the first for the Orchestra with Rafael Payare conducting, and Payare and Weilerstein’s first performance together in the New York area. Upon returning to San Diego, the Orchestra will offer a season of wide-ranging programs—from Mahler’s staggering “Resurrection” Symphony to staged performances of Prokofiev’s music for Romeo and Juliet—to reintroduce audiences to Jacobs Music Center following a $100 million renovation and restoration. Other season highlights include The Ring Without Words, a symphonic journey through Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle, conducted by Rafael Payare as an homage to his mentor, Lorin Maazel; world premieres of compositions by Texu Kim, Carlos Simon, and Vladimir Tarnopolsky; and the West Coast premieres of works by Mason Bates, Gabriela Ortiz, and Billy Childs.

SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY Friday, October 13, 8PM Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage)

Rafael Payare, Conductor

Alisa Weilerstein, Cello

CARLOS SIMON New Commission

DVORÁK Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104

SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47

Tickets: Priced at $20-115; Students will receive a 25% discount on any seats in the house, available at the Box Office for students with an ID.

For tickets more information, visit CarnegieHall.org

About Rafael Payare
One of today’s most sought-after conductors, renowned for his profound musicianship, technical brilliance, and charismatic presence, Rafael Payare assumed the leadership of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra as its Music Director on July 1, 2019.

Mr. Payare served as Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Ulster Orchestra from 2014 through 2019 and was named Conductor Laureate in recognition of his artistic contributions. He also has served as Principal Conductor of the Castleton Festival and Honorary Conductor of the Sinfonietta Cracovia.


In 2022, Mr. Payare assumed the role of Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. As a guest conductor, he has led many of the world’s great orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. As an opera conductor, Mr. Payare made his acclaimed debut at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2019 and has conducted at the Royal Swedish Opera and Malmo Opera.

Born in Venezuela in 1980 and a graduate of El Sistema, Mr. Payare began his formal conducting studies in 2004 with José Antonio Abreu. He has conducted all the major orchestras in Venezuela, including the Simón Bolívar Orchestra, in which he served as Principal Horn and took part in many tours and recordings with conductors including Giuseppe Sinopoli, Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, and Lorin Maazel. In May 2012, Rafael Payare was awarded first prize at the Malko International Conducting Competition.

About San Diego Symphony

Founded in 1910, the San Diego Symphony is the oldest orchestra in California and one of the largest and most significant cultural organizations in San Diego. The Orchestra performs for more than 250,000 people each season, offering a wide variety of programming at its two much-loved venues, Copley Symphony Hall at Jacobs Music Center in downtown San Diego (now under renovation) and The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park in San Diego Bay. In early 2018, the San Diego Symphony announced the appointment of Rafael Payare as music director. Payare leads the orchestra’s 82 full-time musicians and graduates from the finest and most celebrated music schools in the United States and abroad. The San Diego Symphony also serves as the orchestra for the San Diego Opera each season, as well as performing at several regional performing arts and community centers. For more than 30 years, the San Diego Symphony has provided comprehensive learning and community engagement programs reaching more than 65,000 students annually and bringing innovative programming to San Diego’s diverse neighborhoods and schools. For more information, visit sandiegosymphony.org.

MEDIA CONTACT
Kristen Turner, San Diego Symphony
(713) 817-3219 | kturner@sandiegosymphony.org

Todd Bentjen, Polskin Arts
(714) 931-0875 | todd.bentjen@finnpartners.com