By Eileen Wingard
SAN DIEGO — The newly unveiled outdoor Rady Shell, with its modern design and excellent acoustics, will be the site of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra’s in-person concerts, beginning the first Friday in August and continuing through Sunday, November 14.
The roster of summer concerts include performances for all musical tastes, from classical symphonic music (August 6, familiar classical excerpts; August 20, Beethoven By the Bay; Sept. 10, 1812 Tchaikovsky Spectacular); Broadway musicals (Aug. 7, The Best of Broadway, October 22, 23, Chicago: The Musical in Concert, November 7, An Evening of Frank Loesser); movie music (September 18, Return of the Jedi), to all genres of pop music (August 8, Gladys Knight; Aug. 13, Troupe Vertigo in Space; Aug. 14, Sebastian Maniscalco; August 15, The Music of Stevie Wonder; August 17, Ledisi; August 19, Roger Daltry; August 21, Smokey Robinson; August 28, Music of the Knights; August 31, Brian Wilson; September 3, Rocketman; September 4, The Goonies; September 11, Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon; September 12, The Beatles—Abbey Road; Sept. 14, Sergio Mendes; September 26, Jason Mraz; September 29, Bobby McFerrinl September 30, Pat Metheny Side Eye; October 10, Indigo Girls; October 24, The Music of John Coltrane and Lee Morgan).
There will also be concerts of Mexican Mariachi music: (August 29, Mariachi Los Camperos; October 31, Ofrenda: A Dia de los Muertos Celebration); bluegrass music (August 23, Not Our First Goat Rodeo); a crossover concert (October 15, Steve Hackman’s Brahms vs. Radiohead) ; and a concert of music from the 1940’s (September 5, The Finest Hour: Celebrating the Music that Ended World War II).
In addition, the Rady Shell will serve as the venue for the first five concerts of the Masterworks series, four of which will be conducted by the orchestra’s musical director, Raphael Payare (October 8, Payare, Barnatan and Mahler; October 16, 17, Song and Symphony; October 29, 30 Fate Now Conquers: Simon and Beethoven; November 5, 6 Beethoven, Bartok & Biss) and one, conducted by the orchestra’s permanent guest conductor, Edo de Waart (November 13, 14).
For ticket information, email: (tickets@sandiegosymphony.org)
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Eileen Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com