By Julia Pautz
This summer we will welcome audiences into our much anticipated permanent outdoor home. These days, to say the orchestra is excited understates the emotional tenor among the musicians onstage. Collectively we have been transformed, reawakening from the pandemic’s suspended animation into a future on a gorgeous new stage. After a year of uncertainty the time has finally arrived for us to make music for our community in this new and iconic venue.
The SDSO has performed outdoors around the county during the summer months for decades at Hospitality Point, the Navy Pier (adjacent to the docked USS Midway aircraft carrier) and on a temporary stage at Embarcadero Marina Park South. Though we perform at Copley Symphony Hall at Jacobs Music Center in the cooler months, because of our mild climate, and the picturesque nature of the Embarcadero, the outdoor concerts have gained popularity. For years visionaries on the SDSO board dreamed of building a venue unlike any other in the world – open air, waterfront, with a flexible audience size to allow the orchestra to expand its outdoor offerings and play intimate classical shows for 2,500 or arena sized shows with big name artists for 10,000. When CEO Martha Gilmer came onboard in 2014 she undertook the task securing the SDSO’s future with the building of a permanent outdoor home.
This building project had to overcome the two major obstacles of permission and financing. Obtaining first-of-its-kind approval from the San Diego Port Commission and California Coastal Commission to allow the SDSO Association to operate an outdoor amphitheater park on public tidelands was the first hurdle. Planning and fundraising for this type of expensive and complex project was the second.
The planners faced a critical task – construct a world-class venue with only 10 months between performing seasons. Giant earthmoving machines raked the park to create a gentle slope for the audience area. A system of steel ribs and specialty canvas rapidly rose into a translucent structure overlooking the bay. Onstage, technicians installed a Meyer Acoustic System, surrounding the musicians with a synthetic sound environment similar to a concert hall. Around the park offices, backstage areas, and bathrooms were built, along with professional kitchens and prep areas to house the planned food offerings.
COVID-19 brought great disruption and loss to every part of our community, including to the lives of the SDSO players, staff, and the organization. The pandemic cancelled our regular summer and fall seasons and upended the hectic construction timeline on our outdoor home. Necessity dictated a more relaxed building schedule, but fortunately the stage was complete enough for the orchestra to begin safely recording in ever expanding groups starting in June 2020. From November 2020 to May 2021 we recorded classical and jazz streaming performances onstage as the venue neared completion.
During this time the orchestra retreated into a cocoon, spending time away from our audiences working in small groups with Maestro Payare, separated from the other sections but each making progress towards a shared vision. Similarly the venue was gated off from the public, but being readied to emerge as something breathtaking and new.
In May 2021 the orchestra officially unveiled The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park to the local and national press, donors, and community groups. The generosity of the Rady and Jacobs families, as well as numerous donations from many other individuals and foundations, has allowed the orchestra to offer to our community the incredible gift of world-class music in an iconic waterfront venue, complete with food from some of the most beloved restaurants in San Diego. Exciting highlights of the 2021 outdoor season include appearances by Music Director Rafael Payare, Yo-Yo Ma, Indigo Girls, Jason Mraz, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, and founding members of the Beach Boys and The Police. The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park will be a home to classical and pops programming for many years to come, and a visual reminder to the San Diego community that America’s Finest City deserves a great orchestra. The San Diego Symphony has metamorphosed into something better than we ever could have imagined possible.
