Posts by Ken Herman
Rafael Payare Announces Exciting 2020-21 Season for the San Diego Symphony
If the current absence of live symphonic music at the Jacobs Music Center can be assuaged, I suggest contemplation of San Diego Symphony Music Director Rafael Payere’s recently released 2020-21 season of the Jacobs Masterworks Series is just what the doctor ordered.
Read MoreMusic Organizations Turn to the Internet for Performance Possibilities During the Quarantine
With theaters and concert halls darkened, local arts organizations have decided to put their product to online.
Read MoreRamirez Rescues Live Performance at the Organ Pavilion While City’s Music Venues Are Darkened
San Diego concert halls were dark this weekend in compliance with the growing restrictions on public gathering due to the spread of the coronavirus. San Diego’s prized Spreckels Organ, however, has no hall and plays into the spacious outdoor setting of Balboa Park, so Civic Organist Raúl Prieto Ramirez took advantage of his unique venue…
Read More‘House of Joy’ at San Diego Repertory Theatre: More Spectacle Than Persuasive Drama
San Diego Repertory Theatre has opened flamboyant new production of Madhuri Shekar’s “House of Joy” in the Lyceum Space. The house is a royal harem in 17th-century India, and the “joy” part is total irony.
Read MoreArt of Élan’s Compelling Chamber Music for These Distressing Times
Given the shocking cancellations by major San Diego performances slated for this week by San Diego Opera and the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, it was a minor miracle that Art of Élan presented its chamber concert Tuesday, March 10, at the San Diego Museum of Art.
Read MoreJeff Thayer and the San Diego Symphony Reveal the Brilliance of Britten’s Violin Concerto
Among the welcome changes Rafael Payare has brought to the San Diego Symphony is a revitalization of the orchestra’s repertory. Major works the orchestra had not previously performed—and not just new compositions—are now center stage. In January, 2019, when Payare was still Music Director Designate, he conducted the orchestra and cellist Alisa Weilerstein in Benjamin…
Read More