San Diego Symphony 2026-27 Season at Jacobs Music Center by San Diego Symphony

San Diego Symphony 2026-27 Season

JACOBS MUSIC CENTER

Cover photo: Rafael Payare, Music & Artistic Director

Todd Rosenberg Photography

The Power of Being There

There is a moment, just before an orchestra begins, when the air itself seems to hold its breath. The lights dim, the murmurs settle, and something electric moves quietly through the room—a reminder that live music has the rare power to draw us into a world where sound becomes emotion made visible, and time briefly lifts its weight from our shoulders.

To step into the Jacobs Music Center is to enter a space built for this very transformation. It is more than a concert hall; it is a place for connection. Here, music does more than fill the room—it shapes it, animates it, and draws every listener in. Under the vision and artistry of Music and Artistic Director Rafael Payare, the 2026–27 season invites you to feel this alchemy in full: with familiar works like Beethoven’s towering Symphony No. 9, that has stirred hearts for generations, and the new voices, like that of the brilliant composer Jimmy López who is among the emerging artists ready to guide us into the future.

In a beautifully tuned hall, acoustics are not passive. They are alive, responsive—a silent partner in every phrase. The room listens and replies. It sends back warmth, clarity, and color, allowing musicians to play with delicacy or fire, knowing the space will carry every nuance to every ear. The hall becomes an extension of the orchestra’s imagination, an instrument shaped not of wood or brass but of air and architecture.

What you hear is only part of the experience. The rest... you feel. When the orchestra breathes as one, dozens of instruments vibrating in harmony, the sound moves through the room, and through you. These vibrations—complex, layered, alive—cannot be captured in a recording. They require presence. They require you.

And in that shared presence, something remarkable happens. The boundary between stage and audience softens. The music that begins as a single gesture among musicians becomes a collective experience, binding everyone in the hall to the same unfolding moment. Emotion becomes communal—more powerful because it is shared.

This season, we invite you to enter that space of possibility. To experience music not as a backdrop, but as an encounter— immersive and radiantly alive. Here, every concert is a journey, and every journey begins the instant the sound takes flight.

Coffee Concerts

3 Friday Mornings at 11 a.m.

OCTOBER 16

SPAIN THROUGH FRENCH GLASSES: RAVEL & DEBUSSY

Ludovic Morlot, conductor

Jörgen van Rijen, trombone

CLAUDE DEBUSSY “Nuages” and “Fêtes” from Nocturnes

JIMMY LÓPEZ Shift, Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra

MAURICE RAVEL Alborada del gracioso

FRANCIS POULENC Suite from The Does (Les biches)

MAURICE RAVEL Rapsodie espagnole

Ludovic Morlot, one of the leading French conductors of our day, conducts a program of delightfully accessible and light-hearted French music of Debussy, Ravel, and Poulenc, filled with the sounds of dancing and the mysterious murmurs of the night, framing a virtuosic trombone concerto by Composer-in-Residence Jimmy López, performed by Dutch trombonist, Jörgen van Rijen.

Available in Friday M package

FEBRUARY 5

ELEGY TO EXALTATION: RAVEL, ROTA, & SHOSTAKOVICH

Andreas Ottensamer, conductor

Julie Phillips, harp

MAURICE RAVEL Rigaudon from Le Tombeau de Couperin

NINO ROTA Harp Concerto

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5 in D minor

Experience an evening of elegance and intensity. Ravel’s Rigaudon from Le Tombeau de Couperin opens with a sparkling homage to French grace and Baroque brilliance. Nino Rota’s Harp Concerto follows, weaving lush Italian lyricism and cinematic flair into a shimmering showcase for the harp. The program culminates in Shostakovich’s monumental Symphony No. 5 in D minor, a gripping journey from brooding tension to triumphant resolve—a testament to the enduring power of the human spirit through music.

Available in Friday package M

Julie Phillips, harp

MARCH 26

SYMPHONIC DANCES: RACHMANINOFF, BERNSTEIN, & SALONEN

Rafael Payare, conductor

Ricardo Morales, clarinet

ANTONIO ESTÉVEZ Midday on the Plains (Mediodía en el llano)

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN kínēma

LEONARD BERNSTEIN Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances

A Venezuelan symphonic poem from 1942 and three works by composer-conductors —Rachmaninoff (1940), Bernstein (1960), and Salonen (2021)—form this program. Antonio Estévez’s Mediodía en el llano is inspired by midday on the vast plains of Venezuela. Salonen’s gentle clarinet concerto, kínēma, uses music from a film about a love affair in the Baltic Sea. Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story traces love and tragedy through electrifying orchestration. Rachmaninoff’s final work, Symphonic Dances looks back on his life and faith, ending with a radiant quotation from his “All-Night Vigil” and the word “Hallelujah.”

Available in Friday package M

Andreas Ottensamer, conductor

Jacobs Masterworks

5 Friday Nights at 7:30 p.m.

NOVEMBER 20

VOICES OF DESTINY: LISZT’S CONCERTO & MAHLER’S 6 TH

Rafael Payare, conductor

Inon Barnatan, piano

FRANZ LISZT Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major GUSTAV MAHLER Symphony No. 6 in A minor, “Tragic”

At a time when new scientific ideas were leading to new ways of seeing the world around us, Romantic artists became deeply fascinated by the pathos of how little control most human beings feel they have over their lives, and how joy and suffering both seem to buffet us without our knowing why or how. Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 are both dramatic explorations of the idea of human Fate and—the only weapon that we have against it—human heroism.

Available in Friday package A

DECEMBER 4

YOUTHFUL VISIONS: CARREÑO, PROKOFIEV & SIBELIUS

Diego Matheuz, Aristo Sham,

INOCENTE CARREÑO

SERGEI PROKOFIEV

JEAN SIBELIUS

December opens with a richly varied program spanning the early 20th century, pairing two boldly innovative works by the young Prokofiev and Sibelius with music rooted in Venezuelan tradition. The concert begins with a luscious evocation of Venezuela by Inocente Carreño, one of that country’s most famous composers, which uses Venezuelan popular melodies including his own enormously successful melody “Margarita Es una lagrima,” an anthem to his native island.

Available in Friday package A

JANUARY 29

ALISA WEILERSTEIN PLAYS ELGAR’S CELLO CONCERTO

Rafael Payare, conductor

Alisa Weilerstein, cello

EDWARD ELGAR Cello Concerto HECTOR BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

Alisa Weilerstein shines in one of the world’s most recognizable concertos, Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Rafael Payare leads Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, a dazzling orchestral spectacular by a young French composer at the very start of his career.

JUNE 4

ODE TO HUMANITY: BEETHOVEN’S 9

TH & LÓPEZ’S MONARCH

Rafael Payare, conductor

Tasha Hokuao Koontz, soprano

Nikola Printz, mezzo-soprano

Viktor Antipenko, tenor

Hansung Yoo, baritone

San Diego Symphony Chorus

JIMMY LÓPEZ Symphony No. 6, Monarch

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D minor, “Choral”

A symphonic pairing of renewal and reverence: a new work by San Diego Symhony’s composer-in-residence, Jimmy López, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. López, a Peruvian artist fascinated by natural and scientific wonders, finds inspiration in the migration of monarch butterflies for his Symphony No. 6—a luminous tribute to movement, beauty, and transformation. Beethoven’s monumental Ninth Symphony closes the program, setting Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” in an unprecedented finale celebrating unity, hope, and the

Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”

What gives you a sense of wonder? A stunning mountain vista like Yosemite? The tranquil deep blue beauty of La Jolla Cove? Immersing oneself in nature can stir feelings of awe and so too can music. Beethoven’s long nature walks were a part of his daily routine and a crucial part of his creative process. And no piece of music stirs our sense of wonder more profoundly than Beethoven’s towering Ninth Symphony. Whether you’ve heard it a dozen times, or if this would be your first time, Beethoven’s Ninth offers a transformative listening experience. There is much to say about the piece: that despite his profound deafness Beethoven managed to finish it but did not hear its performance or the audience’s sustained cheering at its completion; that it was the first symphonic work to employ solo voices; that it was the first to feature a major role for a chorus. Now 202 years after its first performance, what is most important is how this colossal work, and the glorious “Ode to Joy” ending, continues to make us feel: how each movement evokes a profound sense of reflection and how the final choral eruption leaves us brimming with a transcendent sense of joy and shared humanity.

This season Music and Artistic Director Rafael Payare will take us on the journey of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 as he leads guest vocalists, the San Diego Symphony Chorus and San Diego Symphony Orchestra in the first performance of Beethoven’s Ninth since the renovation of the Jacobs Music Center. It will renew your faith in humanity and leave you full of wonder.

Inon Barnatan, piano

Experience Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, “Choral” on Friday, June 4, Saturday, June 5, and Sunday, June 6.

Jacobs Masterworks

17 Saturday Nights at 7:30 p.m.

*Choose 17, 9, 8, 6 or 5 Saturday Concerts

OCTOBER 3

PAYARE LEADS STRAUSS’ A HERO’S LIFE

Rafael Payare, conductor

Yefim Bronfman, piano

SOFIA GUBAIDULINA Fairytale Poem (Poema-Skazka)

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor

RICHARD STRAUSS A Hero’s Life (Ein Heldenleben)

The season opens with a concert celebrating the power of human imagination. Sofia Gubaidulina’s Fairy-Tale Poem (Poema-Skazka is the story of a piece of chalk that takes on a life of its own, covering the school-room blackboard with flowers and fantasies, sacrificing itself for the power of imagination. Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 is one of the most dramatic pieces he wrote that directly inspired Beethoven and many other composers. Strauss’s tone poem Hero’s Life (Ein Heldenleben), tells an outrageous story filled with laughter and mockery.

Available in Saturday packages A, B, and D

OCTOBER 10

KHACHATURIAN’S EXUBERANT VIOLIN CONCERTO

Rafael Payare, conductor

Sergey Khachatryan, violin

ARAM KHACHATURIAN Violin Concerto

ANTON BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9 in D minor

Mid-20th-century composer Khachaturian drew powerfully on his roots in the Caucasus mountains, his Armenian heritage, and the wild folk dances of the Georgian region. Armenian violinist Sergey Khachatryan brings this irresistibly rhythmic concerto vividly to life. Bruckner, too, was shaped by the alpine world of his Austrian childhood. His Symphony No. 9, his final work, unfolds on a monumental scale, its melodies filling the hall with echoes of nature, the resonance of ancient hymns, and the peal of cathedral bells.

Available in Saturday packages A, C and E

Jacobs Masterworks

17 Saturday Nights at 7:30 p.m. (Continued)

*Choose 17, 9, 8, 6 or 5 Saturday Concerts

NOVEMBER 14

BRAHMS & SHOSTAKOVICH: TRAGEDY THROUGH MUSIC

Rafael Payare, conductor

Daniil Trifonov, piano

JOHANNES BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 10 in E minor

Rafael Payare returns to Jacobs Music Center to conduct the Orchestra in two tragic masterworks composed almost exactly a century apart from one another: Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by Daniil Trifonov, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10. Both pieces draw on the combination of the deepest private and the deepest public feelings.

Available in Saturday packages A, C, and D

JANUARY 16

RUSSIAN ELEGANCE, AMERICAN LYRICISM: RACHMANINOFF & ROREM

Delyana Lazarova, conductor

Andrea Overturf, English horn

MIKHAIL GLINKA Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla

NED ROREM English Horn Concerto

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2 in E minor

Two Russian masterpieces from Glinka and Rachmaninoff frame one of the most evocative and lyrical of American concertos by Ned Rorem, written for the English horn and featuring our very own Andrea Overturf. This whole program is a feast of melody!

Available in Saturday packages A, C, and D

DECEMBER

YOUTHFUL VISIONS: CARREÑO, PROKOFIEV & SIBELIUS

Diego Matheuz, conductor

Aristo Sham, piano

INOCENTE CARREÑO Margariteña

SERGEI PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor

JEAN SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2 in D Major

December opens with a richly varied program spanning the early 20th century, pairing two boldly innovative works by the young Prokofiev and Sibelius with music rooted in Venezuelan tradition. The concert begins with Margariteña, a luscious evocation of Venezuela by Inocente Carreño, one of that country’s most famous composers, which uses Venezuelan popular melodies including his own enormously successful melody “Margarita Es una lagrima,” an anthem to his native island.

Available in Saturday packages A, C, and F

Aziz Shokhakimov, conductor

JANUARY 23

FROM PRAGUE TO BUENOS AIRES: DVOŘÁK & ALBÉNIZ

Aziz Shokhakimov, conductor

Simon Trpčeski, piano

BEDŘICH SMETANA Overture to The Bartered Bride

ALBERTO GINASTERA Concierto argentino ISAAC ALBÉNIZ Rapsodia española

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 in G Major

A wonderfully entertaining and exciting program made up of four pieces—two by Czech composers and two by Hispanic composers—all four saturated with light and laughter and the intoxicating dance rhythms of Bohemia, Argentina, and Spain.

Available in Saturday packages A, B, and E

JANUARY 30

ALISA WEILERSTEIN PLAYS ELGAR’S CELLO CONCERTO

Rafael Payare, conductor

Alisa Weilerstein, cello

EDWARD ELGAR Cello Concerto HECTOR BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

Available in Saturday packages A, B and F

“Overturf relished the center stage spotlight and invited the listeners to also savor her ebullient spirit.”

San Diego Story on Rorem’s Concerto for English Horn and Orchestra

Andrea Overturf, English horn

Jacobs Masterworks

17 Saturday Nights at 7:30 p.m. (Continued)

*Choose 17, 9, 8, 6 or 5 Saturday Concerts

FEBRUARY 6

ELEGY TO EXALTATION: RAVEL, ROTA, & SHOSTAKOVICH

Andreas Ottensamer, conductor

Julie Phillips, harp

MAURICE RAVEL Rigaudon from Le Tombeau de Couperin

NINO ROTA Harp Concerto

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5 in D minor

Available in Saturday packages A, C, and D

FEBRUARY 20

PINTSCHER CONDUCTS COPLAND & PINTSCHER

Matthias Pintscher, conductor

Blake Pouliot, violin

MATTHIAS PINTSCHER Assonanza for Violin and Chamber Orchestra

MAURICE RAVEL Tzigane, rapsodie de concert

AARON COPLAND Symphony No. 3

The brilliant German-born conductor-composer Matthias Pintscher returns to the San Diego Symphony with a glittering program beginning with Assonanza, his own violin concerto, and ending with Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3, the most famous American symphony ever written.

Available in Saturday packages A, B, and F

FEBRUARY 27

THE GENIUS OF MOZART

Bernard Labadie, conductor Benedetto Lupo, piano

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Chaconne from Idomeneo

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major

MOZART Symphony No. 41 in C Major, “Jupiter”

An all-Mozart evening features three of his most loved works, including the Piano Concerto No. 23 and his Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter.” Benedetto Lupo performs the piano concerto under the direction of Bernard Labadie, one of the great masters of 18thcentury music.

Available in Saturday packages A, C, and F

Joshua Brown, violin

MARCH 20

PAYARE LEADS STRAVINSKY’S FIREBIRD SUITE

Rafael Payare, conductor Joshua Brown, violin

GABRIELA ORTIZ Kauyumari

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor

BÉLA BARTÓK Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin

IGOR STRAVINSKY The Firebird Suite (1919 version)

Mexico, Russia, and Hungary converge in a vibrant celebration of rhythm, animating the ear and the body in strikingly different ways. Gabriela Ortiz’s Kauyumari is a glittering orchestral eruption of dance, evoking the hope, joy, and optimism embodied by the Kauyumari, or blue deer. Stravinsky’s The Firebird (1919 version) is drawn from his groundbreaking ballet, written for Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes.

Available in Saturday packages A, B, and D

Blake Pouliot, violin

immediate and timeless. Even more remarkable, he achieved this at every age—composing operas, concertos, and symphonies with a clarity, wit, and emotional insight that still astonishes today. Audiences sense his genius not in technical feats alone, but in the way his music mirrors the full range of human experience.

From the first notes, Mozart draws us in. His melodies can be radiant and playful one moment, and quietly heart-rending the next, reminding us that joy is deepest when it carries shadows within it. Every line he writes—every turn of harmony, every subtle shift in rhythm—feels purposeful, alive, and yet effortlessly natural. It is this balance of precision and spontaneity that has led generations of listeners and composers alike to marvel at his work.

Stepping into Mozart’s sound world, you hear music that sparkles with wit, glows with warmth, and speaks directly to the heart. Even his most complex symphonic finales feel as immediate and exhilarating as a story unfolding before your eyes. And though he composed in the 18th century, his music transcends time: we laugh, sigh, and thrill in the same way audiences have for more than 200 years.

Whether this is your first encounter with Mozart or a return visit to a cherished favorite, this All-Mozart program invites you to experience why history has long judged him a master of the human spirit, a composer whose music continues to captivate, astonish, and inspire.

Hear the all-Mozart program on Saturday, February 27 and Sunday, February 28.

Jacobs Masterworks

17 Saturday Nights at 7:30 p.m. (Continued)

*Choose 17, 9, 8, 6 or 5 Saturday Concerts

MARCH 27

SYMPHONIC DANCES: RACHMANINOFF, BERNSTEIN, & SALONEN

Rafael Payare, conductor

Ricardo Morales, clarinet

ANTONIO ESTÉVEZ Midday on the Plains (Mediodía en el llano)

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN kínēma

LEONARD BERNSTEIN Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances

A Venezuelan symphonic poem from 1942 and three works by composer-conductors—Rachmaninoff (1940), Bernstein (1960), and Salonen (2021)—form this program. Antonio Estévez’s Mediodía en el llano, is inspired by midday on the vast plains of Venezuela. Salonen’s gentle clarinet concerto, kinēma, uses music from a film about a love affair in the Baltic Sea. Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story traces love and tragedy through electrifying orchestration. Rachmaninoff’s final work, Symphonic Dances looks back on his life and faith, ending with a radiant quotation from his “All-Night Vigil” and the word “Hallelujah.”

Available in Saturday packages A, C, and E

APRIL 10

STORIES IN SYMPHONY: PROKOFIEV, DVOŘÁK & JANÁČEK

Sir Mark Elder, conductor

SERGEI PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 7 in C-sharp minor

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK The Wood Dove

LEOŠ JANÁČEK Taras Bulba; Rhapsody after Gogol

Sir Mark Elder leads a vivid program pairing Prokofiev’s final symphony with dramatic Czech tone poems by Dvořák and Janáček. Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 7 transforms nostalgic childhood melodies into tender reflections of life’s twilight. Dvořák’s The Wood Dove tells a haunting tale of guilt and redemption, echoing through the Bohemian countryside. Janáček’s Taras Bulba, based on Gogol’s epic, depicts betrayal, heroism, and prophecy through fiercely expressive orchestral color. Together, these works journey from innocence to tragedy, revealing three masters’ deeply human storytelling through sound.

Available in Saturday packages A, B, and E

MAY 22

NORTHERN LIGHTS: SIBELIUS, GRIEG, & NIELSEN

Osmo Vänskä, conductor

Alessio Bax, piano

JEAN SIBELIUS Pohjola’s Daughter

EDVARD GRIEG Piano Concerto in A minor

CARL NIELSEN Symphony No. 5

Finnish maestro Osmo Vänskä leads a stunning Nordic program. Sibelius’s tone-poem, drawn from the Kalevala, tells of a white-bearded hero who, enchanted by the rainbow-weaving daughter of the God of the North, undertakes impossible tasks before she vanishes into the winter sky. Grieg’s beloved Piano Concerto, infused with Norwegian folk rhythms, remains one of classical music’s most radiant Romantic masterpieces. Nielsen’s powerful Fifth Symphony contrasts chaos and triumph, including its famous snare-drum cadenza.

Available in Saturday packages A, C, and E

MAY 29

FROM THE NEW WORLD: DVOŘÁK’S 9 TH

Joshua Weilerstein, conductor

Jeff Thayer, violin

GIDEON KLEIN Partita for Strings

BÉLA BARTÓK Violin Concerto No. 1

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World”

Joshua Weilerstein leads an Eastern-European program of discovery and remembrance. Gideon Klein’s Partita for Strings, adapted from his 1944 String Trio, was written shortly before the composer’s death in concentration camp at age 25. Bartók’s youthful First Violin Concerto remained hidden until long after his death, revealing music of yearning and dazzling virtuosity. The concert concludes with Dvořák’s timeless Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” a masterpiece blending Czech spirit with echoes of American spirituals, folklore, and Romantic grandeur.

Available in Saturday packages A, B, and D

JUNE 5

ODE TO HUMANITY: BEETHOVEN’S 9 TH & LÓPEZ’S MONARCH

Rafael Payare, conductor

Tasha Hokuao Koontz, soprano

Nikola Printz, mezzo-soprano

Viktor Antipenko, tenor

Hansung Yoo, baritone

San Diego Symphony Chorus

JIMMY LÓPEZ Symphony No. 6, Monarch

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D minor, “Choral”

A symphonic pairing of renewal and reverence: a new work by San Diego Symphony’s composer-inresidence, Jimmy López, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. López, a Peruvian artist fascinated by natural and scientific wonders, finds inspirationin the migration of monarch butterflies for his Symphony No. 6—a luminous tribute to movement, beauty, and transformation. Beethoven’s monumental Ninth Symphony closes the program, setting Schiller’s Ode to Joy in an unprecedented finale celebrating unity, hope, and the shared humanity that transcends all borders. Together, these two symphonies— one born of nature, the other of spirit—speak to our enduring capacity for wonder and connection.

Available in Saturday packages A, C, and F

A Love Letter, Finally Heard

For nearly 50 years, a piece of music written by 26-year-old Béla Bartók lay unheard, quietly set aside by both the composer and the violinist for whom it was written. This two-movement rhapsody for violin and orchestra was deeply personal in nature, inspired by and dedicated to Stefi Geyer, the leading Hungarian violinist of the early 20th century. She was the object of Bartók’s intense affection—an attachment he himself compared to opium. Known today as Violin Concerto No. 1, the work unfolds as a musical love letter: an overture offered and ultimately unreturned. Withdrawn, the concerto would not be heard in their lifetimes.

For San Diego Symphony Concertmaster Jeff Thayer, returning to Bartók through this earlier, rarely heard score offers a compelling contrast. “After performing Bartók’s great Second Violin Concerto, I was inspired to delve into this much earlier work, which is surrounded by intrigue. Here, the young composer—offering his music as an overture to win Geyer’s affection—opens with a loving, searching, perhaps nostalgic melody. To me, it conveys a romantic sentiment tinged with resignation, as if he already senses his efforts may be in vain.”

The second movement points toward the composer Bartók would become. “We hear him turning away from Romanticism and toward the formidable 20th-century voice he was developing. The harmonic language and technical demands suggest that Geyer must have been a remarkable virtuoso.”

This season marks the San Diego Symphony’s first performance of Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 1. “I’m thrilled to share this musical love letter with San Diego for the first time,” says Thayer.

Alessio Bax, piano

Hear this portrait on Saturday, May 29 and Sunday, May 30. Alessio Bax, piano

Jeff Thayer, violin

Daniil Trifonov, piano

Jacobs Masterworks

14 Sunday Matinees at 2 pm

*Choose 14 or 7 Sunday Afternoon Concerts

OCTOBER 4

PAYARE LEADS STRAUSS’ A HERO’S LIFE

Rafael Payare, conductor

Yefim Bronfman, piano

SOFIA GUBAIDULINA Fairytale Poem (Poema-Skazka)

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor

RICHARD STRAUSS A Hero’s Life (Ein Heldenleben)

The season opens with a concert celebrating the power of human imagination. Sofia Gubaidulina’s Fairy-Tale Poem (Poema-Skazka) is the story of a piece of chalk that takes on a life of its own, covering the blackboard with flowers and fantasies, sacrificing itself for the power of imagination. Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 is one of the most dramatic pieces he wrote that directly inspired Beethoven and many other composers. Strauss’s tone poem A Hero’s Life (Ein Heldenleben) tells an outrageous story filled with laughter and mockery.

Available in Sunday packages A and B

OCTOBER 11

KHACHATURIAN’S EXUBERANT VIOLIN CONCERTO

Rafael Payare, conductor

Sergey Khachatryan, violin

ARAM KHACHATURIAN Violin Concerto

ANTON BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9 in D minor

Available in Sunday packages A and C

NOVEMBER 15

BRAHMS & SHOSTAKOVICH: TRAGEDY THROUGH MUSIC

Rafael Payare, conductor

Daniil Trifonov, piano

JOHANNES BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 10 in E minor

Rafael Payare returns to Jacobs Music Center to conduct the Orchestra in two tragic masterworks composed almost exactly a century apart from one another. Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by Daniil Trifonov, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10. Both pieces draw on the combination of the deepest private and the deepest public feelings.

Available in Sunday packages A and B

NOVEMBER 22

VOICES OF DESTINY: LISZT’S CONCERTO & MAHLER’S 6 TH

Rafael Payare, conductor

Inon Barnatan, piano

FRANZ LISZT Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major GUSTAV MAHLER Symphony No. 6 in A minor, “Tragic”

Available in Sunday packages A and C

Sergey Khachatryan, violin

Jacobs Masterworks

14 Sunday Matinees at 2 p.m. (Continued)

*Choose 14 or 7 Sunday Afternoon Concerts

JANUARY 17

RUSSIAN ELEGANCE, AMERICAN LYRICISM: RACHMANINOFF & ROREM

Delyana Lazarova, conductor

Andrea Overturf, English horn

MIKHAIL GLINKA Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla

NED ROREM English Horn Concerto

SERGI RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2 in E minor

Available in Sunday packages A and C

JANUARY 24

FROM PRAGUE TO BUENOS AIRES: DVOŘÁK & ALBÉNIZ

Aziz Shokhakimov, conductor

Simon Trpčeski, piano

BEDŘICH SMETANA Overture to The Bartered Bride

ALBERTO GINASTERA Concierto argentino

ISAAC ALBÉNIZ Rapsodia española

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 in G Major

Delyana Lazarova,

FEBRUARY 21

PINTSCHER CONDUCTS COPLAND & PINTSCHER

Matthias Pintscher, conductor

Blake Pouliot, violin

MATTHIAS PINTSCHER Assonanza for Violin and Chamber Orchestra

MAURICE RAVEL Tzigane, rapsodie de concert

AARON COPLAND Symphony No. 3

Available in Sunday packages A and B

FEBRUARY 28

THE GENIUS OF MOZART

Bernard Labadie, conductor

Benedetto Lupo, piano

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Chaconne from Idomeneo

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major

MOZART Symphony No. 41 in C Major, “Jupiter”

Available in Sunday packages A and C

“Pintscher expertly calibrated orchestral timbres here not just for dramatic effect, although the tension his build-up of climaxes accumulated was undeniably breathtaking.”

Matthias Pintscher, conductor

Jacobs Masterworks

14 Sunday Matinees at 2 p.m. (Continued)

*Choose 14 or 7 Sunday Afternoon Concerts

MARCH 7

MUSIC OF SEA & STORY: LA MER & SHÉHÉRAZADE

Edward Gardner, conductor

Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano

FELIX MENDELSSOHN Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY The Tempest; Fantasy-Overture

MAURICE RAVEL Shéhérazade

CLAUDE DEBUSSY La mer

British conductor Edward Gardner brings four colorful works about the ocean and sea voyages and the primordial human desire to travel across wild waters around the globe to distant lands.

Available in Sunday packages A and B

MARCH

PAYARE LEADS STRAVINSKY’S FIREBIRD SUITE

Rafael Payare, conductor

Joshua Brown, violin

GABRIELA ORTIZ Kauyumari

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor

BÉLA BARTÓK Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin

IGOR STRAVINSKY The Firebird Suite (1919 version)

Available in Sunday packages A and C

APRIL 11

STORIES IN SYMPHONY: PROKOFIEV, DVOŘÁK & JANÁČEK

Sir Mark Elder, conductor

SERGEI PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 7 in C-sharp minor

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK The Wood Dove

LEOŠ JANÁČEK Taras Bulba; Rhapsody after Gogol

Dvořák’s The Wood Dove tells a haunting tale of guilt and redemption, echoing through the Bohemian countryside.

Janáček’s Taras Bulba, based on Gogol’s epic, depicts betrayal, heroism, and prophecy through fiercely expressive orchestral color. Together, these works journey from innocence to tragedy, revealing three masters’ deeply human storytelling through sound.

Available in Sunday packages A and B

Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano

Sir Mark Elder, conductor

Jacobs Masterworks

14 Sunday Matinees at 2 p.m. (Continued)

*Choose 14 or 7 Sunday Afternoon Concerts

MAY

NORTHERN LIGHTS:

SIBELIUS, GRIEG, & NIELSEN

Osmo Vänskä, conductor

Alessio Bax, piano

JEAN SIBELIUS Pohjola’s Daughter

EDVARD GRIEG Piano Concerto in A minor

CARL NIELSEN Symphony No. 5

Available in Sunday packages A and C

MAY 30

FROM THE NEW WORLD: DVOŘÁK’S 9 TH

Joshua Weilerstein, conductor

Jeff Thayer, violin

GIDEON KLEIN Partita for Strings

BÉLA BARTÓK Violin Concerto No.1

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9, in E minor, “From the New World”

Joshua Weilerstein leads an Eastern-European program of discovery and remembrance.

Gideon Klein’s Partita for Strings, adapted from his 1944 String Trio, was written shortly before the composer’s death in concentration camp at age 25. Bartók’s youthful First Violin Concerto remained hidden until long after his death, revealing music of yearning and dazzling virtuosity. The concert concludes with Dvořák’s timeless Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” a masterpiece blending Czech spirit with echoes of American spirituals, folklore, and Romantic grandeur.

Available in Sunday packages A and B

Osmo Vänskä, conductor

JUNE

ODE TO HUMANITY: BEETHOVEN’S 9 TH & LÓPEZ’S MONARCH

Rafael Payare, conductor

Tasha Hokuao Koontz, soprano

Nikola Printz, mezzo-soprano

Viktor Antipenko, tenor

Hansung Yoo, baritone

San Diego Symphony Chorus

JIMMY LÓPEZ Symphony No. 6: Monarch

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D minor, “Choral”

A symphonic pairing of renewal and reverence: a new work by San Diego Symphony’s composer-in-residence, Jimmy López, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. López, a Peruvian artist fascinated by natural and scientific wonders, finds inspiration in the migration of monarch butterflies for his Symphony No. 6—a luminous tribute to movement, beauty, and transformation. Beethoven’s monumental Ninth Symphony closes the program, setting Schiller’s Ode to Joy in an unprecedented finale celebrating unity, hope, and the shared humanity that transcends all borders. Together, these two symphonies—one born of nature, the other

Nature Knows No Borders

Jimmy López’s Sixth Symphony, Monarch, honors the annual 3,000-mile, multigenerational migration of the monarch butterfly—a remarkable journey spanning Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Co-commissioned by the San Diego Symphony and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the three-part symphony traces the monarch’s passage across vast landscapes, moving freely over manmade borders while confronting predators, parasites, violent storms, and other dangers that many will not survive.

For López, the monarch’s journey is a metaphor. “To me, their very existence is poetry. Everything their life cycle can be an allegory—from loss and sacrifice to transformation and rebirth.” That metaphor, he notes, is especially resonant for the commissioning orchestras. Both in border-adjacent cities, “their identities are shaped by constant cultural and economic exchange across international borders.”

The symphony is the result of a close artistic collaboration with Music and Artistic Director Rafael Payare, to whom the work is dedicated. “He was the one who challenged me to take inspiration from the theme of immigration,” says López. “As an immigrant myself, and as someone who has called many a city home, I relate to this subject in very personal ways.” López describes a lasting emotional connection to his unlikely muses. “Every time I see a monarch butterfly fly by, a rush of emotion—joy, nostalgia, and gratitude— washes over me.”

Monarch will be premiered by the San Diego Symphony and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal during the 2026–27 season, under the baton of Rafael Payare.

Hear this new work on Friday, June 4, Saturday, June 5, and Sunday, June 6.

Hokuao Koontz,

New Sounds, New Faces

In the 2026-27 Jacobs Masterworks Season, 15 of the works we’re performing will be San Diego Symphony premieres… works that will be played by the orchestra for the first time in the organization’s extensive history. For many San Diego Symphony audiences, it may also be their first time hearing these works in San Diego!

OCTOBER

Sofia Gubaidulina: Fairytale Poem (Poema-Skazka) (Oct. 3 and 4)

Jimmy López: Shift, Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra (Oct. 16 and 17)

Francis Poulenc: Suite from The Does (Les biches) (Oct. 16 and 17)

DECEMBER

Inocente Carreño: Margariteña (Dec. 4 and 5)

JANUARY

Alberto Ginastera: Concierto argentino (Jan. 23 and 24)

Isaac Albéniz: Rapsodia española (Jan. 23 and 24)

FEBRUARY

Matthias Pintscher: Assonanza for Violin and Chamber Orchestra (Feb. 20 and 21)

Maurice Ravel: Tzigane, rapsodie de concert (Feb. 20 and 21)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Chaconne from Idomeneo (Feb. 27 and 28)

MARCH

Felix Mendelssohn Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (Mar. 5 and 7)

APRIL

Antonín Dvořák: The Wood Dove (Apr. 10 and 11)

MAY

Béla Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1 (May 29 and 30)

Gideon Klein: Partita for Strings (May 29 and 30)

JUNE

Jimmy López: Symphony No. 6: Monarch (Jun. 4, 5, and 6)

Simon Trpčeski, paino

Edward Gardner, conductor

Diego Matheuz conductor

Benedetto Lupo, piano

Ricardo Morales, clarient

Aristo Sham, paino

Six of the 11 guest conductors will make their debut with the organization during the 2026-27 season, and four of the 11 are joining us for just the second time. Nine of the guest soloists in the 2026-27 season will make their debut with the Orchestra!

CONDUCTOR DEBUTS:

Edward Gardner — Friday & Sunday, March 5 & 7

Sir Mark Elder — Saturday & Sunday, April 10 & 11

Diego Matheuz — Saturday & Sunday, December 4 & 5

Delyana Lazarova — Saturday & Sunday, January 16 & 17

Andreas Ottensamer — Friday & Saturday, February 5 & 6

Aziz Shokhakimov — Saturday & Sunday, January 23 & 24

SOLOIST DEBUTS:

Alessio Bax — Saturday & Sunday, May 22 & 23

Joshua Brown — Saturday & Sunday, March 20 & 21

Benedetto Lupo — Saturday & Sunday, February 27 & 28

Ricardo Morales — Friday & Saturday, March 26 & 27

Nikola Printz — Friday–Sunday, June 4–6

Aristo Sham — Friday & Sunday, December 4 & 5

Daniil Trifonov — Saturday & Sunday, November 14 & 15

Jörgen van Rijen — Friday & Saturday, October 16 & 17

Hansung Yoo — Friday–Sunday, June 4–6

Nikola Printz, mezzo-soprano

SECOND APPEARANCE WITH THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY

Ludovic Morlot , conductor

Bernard Labadie, conductor

Joshua Weilerstein, conductor

Osmo Vänskä, conductor

Hansung Yoo, baritone

Masterworks Packages

FRIDAY M PACKAGE

OCTOBER 16 Spain Through French Glasses: Ravel and Debussy

FEBRUARY 5 Elegy to Exaltation: Ravel, Rota, and Shostakovich

MARCH 26 Symphonic Dances: Rachmaninoff, Bernstein, and Salonen

FRIDAY A PACKAGE

NOVEMBER 20 Voices of Destiny: Liszt’s Concerto and Mahler’s Sixth

DECEMBER 4 Youthful Visions: Carreño, Prokofiev & Sibelius

JANUARY 29 Alisa Weilerstein Plays Elgar’s Cello Concerto

MARCH 5 Music of Sea and Story: La mer and Shéhérazade

JUNE 4 Ode to Humanity: Beethoven’s 9th and López’s Monarch

SATURDAY A PACKAGE

OCTOBER 3 Payare Leads Strauss’ A Hero’s Life

OCTOBER 10 Khachaturian’s Exuberant Violin Concerto

OCTOBER 17 Spain Through French Glasses: Ravel and Debussy

NOVEMBER 14 Brahms and Shostakovich: Tragedy through Music

DECEMBER 5 Youthful Visions: Carreño, Prokofiev & Sibelius

JANUARY 16 Russian Elegance, American Lyricism: Rachmaninoff and Rorem

JANUARY 23 From Prague to Buenos Aires: Dvořák and Albéniz

JANUARY 30 Alisa Weilerstein Plays Elgar’s Cello Concerto

“Weilerstein imbues every phrase of the Elgar with plush, dark beauty.”

FEBRUARY 6 Elegy to Exaltation: Ravel, Rota, and Shostakovich

FEBRUARY 20 Pintscher Conducts Copland and Pintscher

FEBRUARY 27 The Genius of Mozart

MARCH 20 Rafael Leads Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite

MARCH 27 Symphonic Dances: Rachmaninoff, Bernstein, and Salonen

APRIL 10 Stories in Symphony: Prokofiev, Dvořák & Janáček

MAY 22 Northern Lights: Sibelius, Grieg, and Nielsen

MAY 29 From The New World: Dvořák’s 9th

JUNE 5 Ode to Humanity: Beethoven’s 9th and López’s Monarch

SATURDAY B PACKAGE

OCTOBER 3 Payare Leads Strauss’ A Hero’s Life

OCTOBER 17 Spain Through French Glasses: Ravel and Debussy

JANUARY 23 From Prague to Buenos Aires: Dvořák and Albéniz

JANUARY 30 Alisa Weilerstein Plays Elgar’s Cello Concerto

FEBRUARY 20 Pintscher Conducts Copland and Pintscher

MARCH 20 Rafael Leads Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite

APRIL 10 Stories in Symphony: Prokofiev, Dvořák & Janáček

MAY 29 From The New World: Dvořák’s 9th

SATURDAY C PACKAGE

OCTOBER 10 Khachaturian’s Exuberant Violin Concerto

NOVEMBER 14 Brahms and Shostakovich: Tragedy through Music

DECEMBER 5 Youthful Visions: Carreño, Prokofiev & Sibelius

JANUARY 16 Russian Elegance, American Lyricism: Rachmaninoff and Rorem

FEBRUARY 6 Elegy to Exaltation: Ravel, Rota, and Shostakovich

FEBRUARY 27 The Genius of Mozart

MARCH 27 Symphonic Dances: Rachmaninoff, Bernstein, and Salonen

MAY 22 Northern Lights: Sibelius, Grieg, and Nielsen

JUNE 5 Ode to Humanity: Beethoven’s 9th and López’s Monarch

SATURDAY D PACKAGE

OCTOBER 3 Payare Leads Strauss’ A Hero’s Life

NOVEMBER 14 Brahms and Shostakovich: Tragedy through Music

JANUARY 16 Russian Elegance, American Lyricism: Rachmaninoff and Rorem

FEBRUARY 6 Elegy to Exaltation: Ravel, Rota, and Shostakovich

MARCH 20 Rafael Leads Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite

MAY 29 From The New World: Dvořák’s 9th

SATURDAY E PACKAGE

OCTOBER 10 Khachaturian’s Exuberant Violin Concerto

JANUARY 23 From Prague to Buenos Aires: Dvořák and Albéniz

MARCH 27 Symphonic Dances: Rachmaninoff, Bernstein, and Salonen

APRIL 10 Stories in Symphony: Prokofiev, Dvořák & Janáček

MAY 22 Northern Lights: Sibelius, Grieg, and Nielsen

SATURDAY F PACKAGE

OCTOBER 17 Spain Through French Glasses: Ravel and Debussy

DECEMBER 5 Youthful Visions: Carreño, Prokofiev & Sibelius

JANUARY 30 Alisa Weilerstein Plays Elgar’s Cello Concerto

FEBRUARY 20 Pintscher Conducts Copland and Pintscher

FEBRUARY 27 The Genius of Mozart

JUNE 5 Ode to Humanity: Beethoven’s 9th and López’s Monarch

SUNDAY A PACKAGE

OCTOBER 4 Payare Leads Strauss’ A Hero’s Life

OCTOBER 11 Khachaturian’s Exuberant Violin Concerto

NOVEMBER 15 Brahms and Shostakovich: Tragedy through Music

NOVEMBER 22 Voices of Destiny: Liszt’s Concerto and Mahler’s Sixth

JANUARY 17 Russian Elegance, American Lyricism: Rachmaninoff and Rorem

JANUARY 24 From Prague to Buenos Aires: Dvořák and Albéniz

FEBRUARY 21 Pintscher Conducts Copland and Pintscher

FEBRUARY 28 The Genius of Mozart

MARCH 7 Music of Sea and Story: La mer and Shéhérazade

MARCH 21 Rafael Leads Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite

APRIL 11 Stories in Symphony: Prokofiev, Dvořák & Janáček

MAY 23 Northern Lights: Sibelius, Grieg, and Nielsen

MAY 30 Northern Lights: Sibelius, Grieg, and Nielsen

JUNE 6 Ode to Humanity: Beethoven’s 9th and López’s Monarch

SUNDAY B PACKAGE

OCTOBER 4 Payare Leads Strauss’ A Hero’s Life

NOVEMBER 15 Brahms and Shostakovich: Tragedy through Music

JANUARY 24 From Prague to Buenos Aires: Dvořák and Albéniz

FEBRUARY 21 Pintscher Conducts Copland and Pintscher

MARCH 7 Music of Sea and Story:

SUNDAY C PACKAGE

OCTOBER 11 Khachaturian’s Exuberant Violin Concerto

NOVEMBER 22 Voices of Destiny: Liszt’s Concerto and Mahler’s Sixth

JANUARY 17 Russian Elegance, American Lyricism: Rachmaninoff and Rorem

FEBRUARY 28 The Genius of Mozart

MARCH 21 Rafael Leads Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite

MAY 23 Northern Lights: Sibelius, Grieg, and Nielsen

JUNE 6 Ode to Humanity: Beethoven’s 9th and López’s Monarch

Alisa Weilerstein, cello

Special add-on concert!

OCTOBER 29

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal

Rafael Payare, conductor

Leonidas Kavakos, violin

SAMY MOUSSA Elysium

IGOR STRAVINSKY The Firebird (full ballet)

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D Major

The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, led by Music Director Rafael Payare, presents a program of color and imagination. The evening opens with Canadian-German composer Samy Moussa’s Elysium, an orchestral meditation on the afterlife as a plane of peace and moral fulfillment.

Next comes Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, a timeless masterpiece of Romantic expression. Brimming with lyricism, exuberance, and dazzling virtuosity, the concerto moves from soaring melodies and poetic intimacy to fiery brilliance. Its seamless balance of tenderness and vitality has made it one of the most treasured works in the violin repertory.

The concert concludes with Stravinsky’s The Firebird, performed in its complete ballet version. Written for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, the score dazzles with its glittering orchestration, magical storytelling, and ecstatic finale. This mythical tale of light overcoming darkness remains one of the most exhilarating creations in all music.

About Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal

Founded in 1934 by Antonia Nantel, Wilfrid Pelletier and Athanase David, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) is a distinguished leader of musical life in Quebec and Canada. Recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the world, whose core activity is to perform the vast orchestral repertoire with conductors and soloists of the highest calibre, the OSM is an essential cultural ambassador. Under the direction of conductor Rafael Payare, the OSM perpetuates several rich traditions rooted in its long history of social involvement and embodied in far-reaching projects, world class tours, and a superb discography. Firmly anchored in today’s world, the OSM’s innovative artistic programming in both concerts and recordings brings modern-day relevance to the symphonic repertoire while strengthening the Orchestra’s place at the heart of its home base in Quebec’s metropolis. Over the years, the OSM has crisscrossed Canada and toured abroad, travelling to Quebec’s Far North as well as to the United States, Latin America, and several countries in Europe and Asia. The OSM’s discography totals more than a hundred recordings on the Decca, Analekta, CBC Records, ECM, EMI, Philips, Sony and Pentatone labels, earning more than 110 national and international awards.

Jazz @ The Jacobs

3 Saturday Nights at 7:30 p.m.

Jazz great Gilbert Castellanos brings some of the world’s finest jazz musicians to Jacobs Music Center to honor the giants of the genre in the 2026–27 Jazz @ The Jacobs season. Castellanos and a handpicked group of virtuoso collaborators celebrate the 100th birthday of Miles Davis with a performance of Milestones, alongside Billie Holiday’s timeless meditation on love, All or Nothing at All, and Lee Morgan’s iconic The Sidewinder.

NOVEMBER 28

Miles Davis’ Milestones

Celebrating Miles Davis’ 2026 Centennial

Celebrate Miles Davis’ 100th birthday with a concert honoring Davis’s 1958 hard bop album, Milestones. Castellanos and a lineup of some of today’s most sought after jazz musicians will play charts from the album, side 1 to side 2, featuring “Straight, No Chaser,” “Dr. Jekyll,” and “Billy Boy.”

All or nothing at all

FEBRUARY

Billie Holiday’s All or Nothing at All

Gilbert Castellanos and a lineup of stellar jazz musicians will pay homage to Billie Holiday’s 1958 All of Nothing at All. Made up of 12 songs previously recorded in 1956 and 1957, the album has some of her most well-known songs, including “April in Paris,” “Cheek to Cheek,” and “Our Love Is Here to Stay.” A perfect concert to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your special someone.

APRIL 3

Lee Morgan’s The Sidewinder

The 2026-27 Jazz @ The Jacobs season concludes with an homage to trumpet player Lee Morgan’s 1962 album, Gilbert Castellanos and a quintet of top-notch players bring the album to life, including the celebrated title track, “Boy, What a Night” as well as “Hocus-Pocus.”

Gilbert Castellanos, trumpet

Dining

Elevate your Jacobs Music Center experience with nearby dining options.

Make your San Diego Symphony event even more memorable with a pre-concert dinner or postperformance dessert at one of our Dining Partners. Our dining and hospitality partners offer a diverse range of cuisines and price points—all conveniently located within a short walk of Jacobs Music Center.

Exclusive offers are available to Symphony patrons with proof of a same-day performance ticket, making it easy to enjoy great food, drinks, and hospitality as part of your concert experience.

When you are at Jacobs Music Center, Knead Artisan Bakery is conveniently located in the B Street lobby of Symphony Towers, serving coffee and fresh bread and pastries before concerts and during intermission.

Sandwiches, snacks, alcoholic beverages, soda, and water are also available at concession stands inside the Upper Lobby off 7th Avenue and the Lower Lobby off B Street.

Subscriber Benefits

Become a subscriber and receive these benefits:

• Lowest ticket prices

• Savings on fees

• First choice of seating

• Same seats at each concert

• Free ticket exchanges

• Ability to reserve pre-concert prix-fixe dinners at the University Club atop Symphony Towers on Friday and Saturday nights

• Priority presale access to purchase tickets to additional events throughout the year at Jacobs Music Center and The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park

• Special offers from San Diego Symphony partners

• Two complimentary tickets for a Jacobs Masterworks concert in 2026

2026–27 Season Concerts

OCTOBER

OCT 3 & 4

PAYARE LEADS

STRAUSS’ A HERO’S LIFE

Rafael Payare, conductor

Yeﬁm Bronfman, piano

SOFIA GUBAIDULINA Fairytale Poem (Poema-Skazka)

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor

RICHARD STRAUSS A Hero's Life (Ein Heldenleben)

OCT 10 & 11

KHACHATURIAN’S

EXUBERANT VIOLIN CONCERTO

Rafael Payare, conductor

Sergey Khachatryan, violin

ARAM KHACHATURIAN Violin Concerto

ANTON BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9 in D minor

OCT 16 & 17

SPAIN THROUGH FRENCH

GLASSES: RAVEL & DEBUSSY

Ludovic Morlot, conductor

Jörgen van Rijen, trombone

CLAUDE DEBUSSY “Nuages” and “Fêtes” from Nocturnes

JIMMY LÓPEZ Shi , Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra

MAURICE RAVEL Alborada del gracioso

FRANCIS POULENC Suite from The Does (Les biches)

MAURICE RAVEL Rapsodie espagnole

OCT 29

ORCHESTRE SYMPHONIQUE DE MONTRÉAL

Rafael Payare, conductor

Leonidas Kavakos, violin

SAMY MOUSSA Elysium

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Violin Concerto in D Major

IGOR STRAVINSKY The Firebird (full ballet)

NOVEMBER

NOV 14 & 15

BRAHMS & SHOSTAKOVICH: TRAGEDY THROUGH MUSIC

Rafael Payare, conductor

Daniil Trifonov, piano

JOHANNES BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 10 in E minor

NOV 20 & 22

VOICES OF DESTINY: LISZT’S CONCERTO & MAHLER’S 6 TH

Rafael Payare, conductor

Inon Barnatan, piano

FRANZ LISZT Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-ﬂat Major

GUSTAV MAHLER Symphony No. 6 in A minor, "Tragic"

NOV 28

MILES DAVIS' MILESTONES

Celebrating Miles Davis' 2026 Centennial

DECEMBER

DEC 4 & 5

YOUTHFUL VISIONS: CARREÑO, PROKOFIEV & SIBELIUS

Diego Matheuz, conductor

Aristo Sham, piano

INOCENTE CARREÑO Margariteña

SERGEI PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor

JEAN SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2 in D Major

Viktor Antipenko,

JANUARY

JAN 16 & 17

RUSSIAN ELEGANCE, AMERICAN LYRICISM: RACHMANINOFF & ROREM

Delyana Lazarova, conductor

Andrea Overturf, English horn

MIKHAIL GLINKA Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla

NED ROREM English Horn Concerto

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Symphony

No. 2 in E minor

JAN 23 & 24

FROM PRAGUE TO BUENOS AIRES: DVOŘÁK & ALBÉNIZ

Aziz Shokhakimov, conductor

Simon Trpčeski, piano

BEDŘICH SMETANA Overture to

The Bartered Bride

ALBERTO GINASTERA

Concierto argentino

ISAAC ALBÉNIZ Rapsodia española

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 in G Major

JAN 29 & 30

ALISA WEILERSTEIN PLAYS ELGAR’S CELLO CONCERTO

Rafael Payare, conductor

Alisa Weilerstein, cello

EDWARD ELGAR Cello Concerto in E minor

HECTOR BERLIOZ

Symphonie fantastique

FEBRUARY

FEB 5 & 6

ELEGY TO EXALTATION: RAVEL, ROTA, & SHOSTAKOVICH

Andreas O ensamer, conductor

Julie Phillips, harp

MAURICE RAVEL Rigaudon from Le Tombeau de Couperin

NINO ROTA Harp Concerto

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5 in D minor

FEB 13

BILLIE HOLIDAY'S ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL

FEB 20 & 21

PINTSCHER CONDUCTS

COPLAND & PINTSCHER

Ma hias Pintscher, conductor

Blake Pouliot, violin

MATTHIAS PINTSCHER Assonanza for Violin & Chamber Orchestra

MAURICE RAVEL Tzigane, rapsodie de concert

AARON COPLAND Symphony No. 3

FEB 27 & 28

THE GENIUS OF MOZART

Bernard Labadie, conductor

Benede o Lupo, piano

ALL MOZART PROGRAM

Chaconne from Idomeneo

Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major Symphony No. 41 in C Major, "Jupiter"

MARCH

MAR 5 & 7

MUSIC OF SEA & STORY: LA MER & SHÉHÉRAZADE

Edward Gardner, conductor Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano

FELIX MENDELSSOHN Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

The Tempest Fantasy-Overture

MAURICE RAVEL Shéhérazade

CLAUDE DEBUSSY La mer

MAR 20 & 21

PAYARE LEADS

STRAVINSKY’S FIREBIRD SUITE

Rafael Payare, conductor Joshua Brown, violin

GABRIELA ORTIZ Kauyumari

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor

BÉLA BARTÓK Suite from

The Miraculous Mandarin

IGOR STRAVINSKY: The Firebird Suite (1919 version)

MAR 26 & 27

SYMPHONIC DANCES: RACHMANINOFF, BERNSTEIN, & SALONEN

Rafael Payare, conductor Ricardo Morales, clarinet

ANTONIO ESTÉVEZ Midday on the Plains (Mediodía en el llano)

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN kínēma

LEONARD BERNSTEIN Symphonic

Dances from West Side Story

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances

APRIL

APR 3

LEE MORGAN'S THE SIDEWINDER

APR 10 & 11

STORIES IN SYMPHONY: PROKOFIEV, DVOŘÁK & JANÁČEK

Sir Mark Elder, conductor

SERGEI PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 7 in C-sharp minor

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK: The Wood Dove

LEOŠ JANÁČEK: Taras Bulba; Rhapsody a er Gogol

MAY

MAY 22 & 23

NORTHERN

LIGHTS: SIBELIUS, GRIEG, & NIELSEN

Osmo Vänskä, conductor Alessio Bax, piano

JEAN SIBELIUS Pohjola's Daughter

EDVARD GRIEG Piano Concerto in A minor

CARL NIELSEN Symphony No. 5

MAY 29 & 30

FROM THE NEW WORLD: DVOŘÁK’S 9 TH

Joshua Weilerstein, conductor

Jeﬀ Thayer, violin

GIDEON KLEIN Partita for Strings

BÉLA BARTÓK Violin Concerto No.1

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World"

JUNE

JUNE 4, 5 & 6

ODE TO HUMANITY: BEETHOVEN’S 9 TH & LÓPEZ’S MONARCH

Rafael Payare, conductor

Tasha Hokuao Koontz, soprano

Nikola Printz, mezzo-soprano

Viktor Antipenko, tenor

Hansung Yoo, baritone

San Diego Symphony Chorus

JIMMY LÓPEZ Symphony No. 6, Monarch

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D minor, "Choral"

CONCERT SERIES KEY

JACOBS MASTERWORKS

JAZZ @ THE JACOBS

SPECIAL CONCERTS

Jörgen van Rijen, trombone

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Seating assignments will be based on the following factors: a patron’s giving level, subscriber level, renewing paid subscriptions by date received and new paid subscriptions by date received.

Group Tickets

Experience the fun and savings when you bring your group of 10 or more! For more information, please email groups@SanDiegoSymphony.org or call (619) 235-0804.

Wheelchair, companion, semi-ambulatory and transfer seats available by request.

If you require any assistance, please contact the Ticket Oﬃce in advance to accommodate your ticketing needs.

Jacobs Masterworks

Jazz @ The Jacobs