THE CONRAD’S NAMESAKE Conrad Prebys (19332016) was a real estate magnate beloved in San Diego for his joy in giving, and his lavish contributions (hundreds of millions of dollars) to medical research, education and the arts. Born in South Bend, Indiana, Prebys worked in a steel mill and owned a pizzeria before moving to San Diego in 1965, at age 32. “I had $500, no job, no prospects,” he recalled. “I thought, ‘If I could just make a buck.’” He became a billionaire by building a real estate empire of 90 properties and 8,000 rental units. But he never forgot his humble beginnings. He considered his success to be equal parts “good fortune and elbow grease.” In his expansive philanthropy, Prebys confessed that he generally gave from his heart, but his support for music came from his soul. He donated $30 million toward the creation of the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center. “Music,” he said, “is my connection to the sublime.”
For 18 of the Festival’s 32 years, violinist Cho-Liang “Jimmy” Lin served as SummerFest music director. In 2019, he was succeeded by Inon Barnatan, the 37-year-old Israeli whom The New York Times called “one of the most admired pianists of his generation.” Also in 2019, a new president/ CEO took the helm: veteran arts administrator Ted DeDee, who has led seven performing arts centers around the U.S. Optimism is soaring at LJMS which, with a $6.5 million annual budget, has continued to operate in the black. When the Society first began, tickets cost $6-$7. Prices still remain reasonable: $45-$89 for SummerFest and an average of $45$50 during the season. The Society is proud of its extensive education and outreach program. One of the most praise-worthy projects, founded in 1998, is the Community Music Center, an afterschool program in Logan Heights, an inner city neighborhood near Barrio Logan. A bilingual staff provides group music lessons three times a week. This program is unique in San Diego, because the instruction and instruments are provided free to any school child above fourth grade. If students fulfill attendance and music proficiency requirements, they are allowed to keep their instruments for life. The Discovery Series attracts rising classical music stars (recent prize-winners or young, up-and-coming artists), who attend LJMS performances and perform at area schools, libraries and community centers. Each year, the Series introduces thousands of San Diego children to classical music. And every year, the Society invites hundreds of local students to classical music and dance performances at no charge. The Society’s Artist Development Program provides professional opportunities for young artists through coaching workshops, master classes and a fellowship artist program—a highly competitive SummerFest opportunity from the world’s leading musical conservatories. The partnership with the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory offers both scholarship and performance opportunities for developing local musicians. Pre-concert lectures and interviews, appropriate for all ages, are provided year-round through the Musical Preludes program. Open rehearsals are also scheduled throughout the year. SummerFest Encounters offer talks and roundtable discussions by composers-in-residence, on topics such as music history and theory. Since its inception, LJMS has commissioned new works, and plans to expand its horizons into world music. Other performing arts outfits have signed on to rent spaces in The Conrad, attracted by its location and state-of-the-art facilities. “We want the venue itself to be a performer,” says Society consultant David Kitto. “I think this facility will be one of, if not the, preeminent performing arts venue in San Diego.”
OPENING SPREAD AND OPPOSITE, STEVE UZZELL
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OR ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY, the La Jolla Music Society (LJMS) gave itself a great big gift: an $82 million permanent home, the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center. LJMS, which boasts of being “one of the West Coast’s foremost performing arts institutions” and “the largest presenter of classical music and dance in San Diego County,” was founded in 1941 as the Musical Arts Society of La Jolla. The organization’s name has changed over the years (later becoming LJMS in 1969), but its mission remains the same: to present and produce a dynamic range of performing arts. The idea of having a home of its own was brewing for a long time, but the plans were accelerated by the announcement of the closing of Sherwood Auditorium at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla, which, since 1996, had been the site of the Music Society’s concerts and annual month-long SummerFest. In 2017, just a few blocks from the museum, LJMS broke ground on “The Conrad” (7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla Village), the nickname of the new performing arts center made possible in part by founding donors Conrad Prebys and his life partner Debra Turner. The 49,000-square-foot complex comprises the 513-seat Baker-Baum Concert Hall; the 116-seat, flexible-use space, The JAI (named for founding donors Joan and Irwin Jacobs; he was cofounder of Qualcomm); and a 2,000-square-foot flexible multipurpose space. After a yearlong competitive process, Boston-based Epstein Joslin Architects was selected from among 15 architectural firms across the U.S. The firm’s other projects include the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, and the Baltimore Symphony’s Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda. The Conrad was designed to keep the relationship between audience and performers as intimate as possible. Nagata Acoustics America, the U.S. branch of Japan’s leading acoustical consulting firm, was engaged to create an acoustically excellent sound environment. They previously consulted on high-profile concert venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Philharmonie de Paris. The new performance venues and rehearsal rooms cluster around the Wu Tsai QRT.yrd, a garden courtyard designed to be “a cultural melting pot, akin to Lincoln Center Plaza.” LJMS will continue its signature performance programs: the internationally acclaimed August chamber music festival, SummerFest, which features world-class visiting performers; the Discovery Series (for young artists); the Piano Series; the Revelle Chamber Music Series; the Jazz Series; and The Dance Series.
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