FROM THE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER DEAR FRIENDS, Photo Credit: Lauren Radack
Last year I wrote that the opening of a new season is like opening a new book. Each chapter unfolds as the season goes on – and takes us away from our everyday life into a different world where we encounter different characters, places and experiences. Our 2016-17 Season has been designed more like a series of quilts, each created uniquely, with great care, evoking memories and experiences from the past while creating something of value along with lasting memories. The quilt is the perfect metaphor for a season focused on exploration of the many facets of music made in America. In every quilt, each tile of fabric finds its place in a larger framework that creates a complete image when stitched together with other pieces. That is exactly how I would hope you, our audience, would experience our new season of concerts. The American melting pot has brought people from all over the world to our country – from our coasts to our heartland, north woods and southern bayous; we represent so many different cultures, different languages and different music. And yet, when we consider it all as a whole, the patterns that emerge speak volumes about what it is to be an American. This season is an exploration of that American voice, and an important part of that exploration is the element of discovery! There are ten pieces of music included in this season’s classical programs which have never been performed before by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. Having been involved in making programs for well over 30 years, one of the most rewarding experiences I have is when someone comes up to me and says, “I loved that piece of music and I had never heard it before.” The unfamiliar may turn out to be your most favorite piece of music after all. The opening of our Jacobs Masterworks season features an American from the heartland, violinist Gil Shaham, performing the great Mendelssohn Concerto. Gil was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, but moved to Israel when he was seven years old. It is fitting that the season begins with a work by William Schuman (1910-92) which is entitled American Festival Overture. Schuman, who grew up in Manhattan, wrote sweeping melodies that reflects our American roots. It is a perfect kick off to our America-focused season, which culminates in January with our American Variations Festival. During October we launch our Family Concerts Series with the very familiar work by Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf. Much of Prokofiev’s career was centered in America, writing his Love for Three Oranges for the Chicago Opera and performing throughout this country as a pianist. After returning to Russia in 1936 and writing his legendary children’s piece in four days for a Moscow children’s theatre commission, Prokofiev briefly returned to America in 1938, stopped by Walt Disney’s LA studios and played the whole score on Disney’s rickety office piano; the episode inspired Disney to make his famous animated version of Peter in 1946. Our concert, a perfect introduction to orchestral music for the entire family, is a collaboration with San Diego Junior Theatre. The Fox Theatre, now Copley Symphony Hall, has a long history of cinematic presentations, and we honor that history by screening the ultimate Silent Era horror classic, The Phantom of the Opera (1925), complete with live organ. And just in time for Halloween, we'll have a performance with our Orchestra of the music of film composer Danny Elfman. Finally, on October 30th we celebrate Día de los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead, with a special concert accompanied by the creation of traditional ceremonial alters. I hope you will join us throughout the season as we create our musical quilt – the old and new, familiar and surprising – discovering along the way how music connects us all.
Sincerely,
Martha A. Gilmer Chief Executive Officer S AN DI EG O SYMPHO NY O RCHEST RA 2016- 17 SEA SO N OC TOB E R 2016
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