By Evan Pasternak, violin The 2023-24 San Diego Symphony season has concluded, and it was certainly one to remember. The orchestra traveled to New York City and Tijuana within a single month, and we performed at venues ranging from our Rady Shell and the Civic Theater to the Youth Transition…
By Kevin Gobetz John Degnan, second horn What makes music special to you? Music brings people together. It introduces us to new places, people, and stories! What is the most exciting/thrilling musical experience you’ve had and what made it so? My first season with the SDSO has been a huge…
by Julia Pautz Every musician in the San Diego Symphony is uniquely talented. In addition to her position in the SDSO, Kate Hatmaker is also the co-founder and Executive/Artistic Director of Art of Elan, a San Diego-based arts organization that has been doing extensive work in the San Diego community…
America’s Finest City Makes a Statement in the Big Apple by Rodion Belousov, second oboe In October 2023, the San Diego Symphony, under the guidance of its esteemed music director, Rafael Payare, embarked on a journey to New York – our first out-of-state tour since COVID-19. It was a grand…
By Lily Josefsberg, third flute/piccolo For the past few years, my colleagues and I at the San Diego Symphony have been performing outdoors at the Rady Shell and various other venues across Southern California while we await the reopening of our indoor home, Copley Symphony Hall. On November 2nd, the…
By Kevin Gobetz Jason Karlyn How did your audition process change throughout your life and how would you advise an aspiring musician? Everyone responds differently to the demand of performing excerpts alone- an incontrovertibly awkward task for musicians used to performing this material in context. For me, I had to…
A Tag Team Interview Between Principal Horn Ben Jaber and Violist Wanda Law Hi all, Wanda and Ben here! We sat down and had a conversation about our involvement in Traditional Irish Music, where we set out to answer a few commonly asked questions as well share our own personal…
Aaron Blick What has been your most inspiring musical motivation over your career? There’s something about the feeling of producing a big, booming acoustic sound, especially in the low register of the bass, that has inspired me for a long time. I’ve been so lucky to have seen and heard…
Xiaoxuan Shi What makes music special to you? To me I feel music is a media to connect myself with the outer world. What drew you to your instrument? Was it your first choice?When I was 5, my parents took me to an orchestra concert and asked me to choose…
Rodion Belousov Upbringing/Roots/Family I grew up in a very musical family, music has been around me from a very young age. Even though my parents aren’t musicians, they both have backgrounds in music – my mom plays piano, my dad plays accordion. They would always take me and my sister…
About five years ago, my daughter heard an instrument made by the Canadian luthier Mark Schnurr. (A luthier is someone who makes or repairs string instruments.) She was so impressed that she visited Mark and purchased one of his violins. At that time, I had a very preliminary discussion with…
As we approach the three year mark of the last show we performed inside the Jacobs Music Center, I want to share a few thoughts and observations on the current renovation. I have a front row seat to the transformation inside our concert hall as a member of the renovation…