The San Diego Symphony’s $85 million Rady Shell at Jacobs Park has earned international acclaim and featured an array of music legends and rising talents since opening in 2021.
But with nearly 20 artists set to make their Shell debuts this season — including Audra McDonald, Harry Connick, Jr., Los Lobos, Sister Sledge, The Avett Brothers and rising classical violinist Geneva Lewis — the symphony isn’t ready to rest on its laurels when it comes to programming at its outdoor concert venue.
All told, more than half of the 36 concerts announced March 3 for The Shell’s 2024 summer season and pre-season will spotlight bands and solo acts who will be performing there for the first time. Two of those performances — “The Music of Marc Shaiman” on July 3 and “Field of Dreams in Concert” on July 19 — will be world premieres.
“It’s important that we have artists who think of The Shell as their home in Southern California, whether it’s The Beach Boys, Trombone Shorty or the Gipsy Kings — who are all returning to play for us this year — but we are always looking for new performers,” said San Diego Symphony Vice President of Artistic Administration and Audience Development Lea Slusher.
Previously Carnegie Hall’s artistic projects director in New York, Slusher has booked each of The Shell’s four summer concert seasons. She and her husband, Steve Hornsby, have the distinction of being the only couple — so far — whose marriage ceremony was conducted on the stage of The Shell.
“It’s very important for the audience, and for us, to have something new to look forward to each summer,” Slusher continued. “And it’s important for us to extend our programming by presenting all types of artists.”
After performing at The Shell last year on a bill with Trombone Shorty, reggae mainstay Ziggy Marley is returning this summer for a concert with the San Diego Symphony.
(Tuff Gong Worldwide/For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Orchestral-pop trend
Both here and nationally, a growing number of non-classical-music performers are embracing the opportunity to share the stage with orchestras. That trend is continuing, judging by the number of pop artists who will be accompanied by the San Diego Symphony at The Shell this year.
Last year saw the venue host orchestral concerts with everyone from Mariachi Los Camperos and hip-hop mainstays Cypress Hill to the rock bands Guster and Airborne Toxic Unit.
This year, artists who will perform alongside the symphony at The Shell include John Legend and reggae dynamo Ziggy Marley — both of whom played at the venue, sans orchestra, last year — Pink Martini and Jason Mraz, who first teamed up with the symphony at The Shell in 2021.
“It’s definitely a trend and artists are reaching out to us,” said San Diego Symphony CEO Martha Gilmer.
“John Legend knew we’d love to do an orchestral show with him and Ziggy Marley has just created one. We can safely say that more and more artists are interested in the combination of a symphony orchestra playing with them in concert.”
The upcoming season will include several all-classical evenings, starting with the June 28 performance by the symphony with guest conductor Gemma New and pianist Olga Kern, who will be showcased on Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30.
Then comes the July 12 “Beethoven by the Bay” concert, for which the orchestra will be conducted by Nicolas Ellis. Violinist Geneva Lewis, a native of New Zealand, will be the featured soloist.
New Zealand violinist Geneva Lewis will perform at The Shell with the San Diego Symphony for its July 12 “Beethoven by the Bay” concert.
(Motti Fang-Bentov / Courtesy La Jolla Music Society)
‘A little surprise’
San Diego Symphony Music Director Rafael Payare’s only scheduled Shell performance this summer will be at the Aug. 30: “Tchaikovsky Spectacular.” Toronto-born violinist Blake Pouliot will be showcased on Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35.
“We might have a little surprise at that concert, but I can’t tell you what it is quite yet,” Payare said playfully. “The Shell lets us pursue our more crazy projects.”
Payare is quick to note he has now led the orchestra at The Shell in all four seasons while its indoor venue, the Jacobs Music Center’s Copley Symphony Hall, has been undergoing a three-year renovation that is now nearing completion.
“We don’t just do our summer season at The Shell,” said the Venezuelan-born conductor, who will spend much of the summer conducting orchestras abroad.
“We have also been doing our fall and spring season there, and even our December holiday concerts,” continued Payare, who turned 44 on Feb. 23. “The Shell is such a beautiful venue, right next to the ocean, and it has allowed us to dream and expand what we are capable of doing.”
He chuckled when asked how the venue’s bayside setting has made him and the orchestra more attuned to how changes in weather can affect the sound of the music they make.
“Yes! We know even how the (onstage) microphones will react on a damp night or a very dry night,” he said. “And we know where the sun will be shining, in relation to the stage, when we do our daytime rehearsals. The sky is literally the limit at The Shell!”
Free rehearsals
The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park functions as a public park for the majority of each year.
(Photo courtesy of San Diego Symphony)
Those rehearsals are free and open to the public, as per the symphony’s operating agreement with the Port of San Diego and the San Diego Coastal Commission.
The Shell, which occupies 3.6 acres within Embarcadero Marina Park South is open 85 percent of the year as a public park. The symphony is permitted to hold 110 concerts and events annually at the venue, which has been rented out periodically to host private corporate events. These have included separate 2022 concerts by Sting and Billy Joel, who will perform a stadium show together on April 13 at Petco Park, just a few blocks away.
The Shell is also increasingly being rented by outside promoters, including Live Nation and AEG/Goldenvoice, which are staging upcoming concerts at the venue by everyone from Primus (April 18) and Willie Nelson (April 22) to Cody Jinks (June 1) and Sarah McLachlan (June 2).
“Every year, The Shell becomes better for us — and better known,” said symphony vice president Slusher.
“The Shell has expensive overhead (to operate), no question about it, but we are on the way to where we want to be. It was hard when we opened in 2021, because none of the artists, or their agents or other promoters knew the venue. It makes a big difference when an agent or manager has been here and seen The Shell to decide that this is the right venue for their artist to perform.
“It’s the same for audiences. Once you’ve seen The Shell in person, you can appreciate how unique it is.”
The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park Pre-Season Concerts
All concerts are at 7:30 p.m., unless otherwise indicated. Ticket on-sale information appears below.
April 14: Peter Frampton “Never Ever Say Never Tour,” $65-$225
May 3: “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark in Concert,” featuring the San Diego Symphony, $22-$104
Roger Daltrey of The Who will perform at The Shell on May 6.
(Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
May 6: Roger Daltrey, with KT Tunstall, $46-$225
May 19: Derek Hough, “A Symphony of Dance,” $22-$499
June 21: Kool & The Gang, with Sister Sledge and DJ Prince Hakim, 7 p.m., $53-$120
The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park 2024 Season Concerts
June 28: Summer 2024 Opening Night, with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra performing John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30, Copland’s “Four Dance Episodes” from Rodeo, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, featuring guest conductor Gemma New and pianist Olga Kern, $24-$104
June 29: “The Music of John Williams,” featuring the San Diego Symphony, conducted by David Newman, $24-104
Singer and actress Audra McDonald will perform at The Shell for the first time this summer.
(Bruce Glikas / WireImage)
June 30: An Evening with Audra McDonald, featuring the San Diego Symphony, conducted by Andy Einhorn, $24-$104
July 3: “The Music of Marc Shaiman — Sleepless in Seattle, Hairspray, Beach, Sister Act, Smash and more,” featuring the San Diego Symphony, conducted by Steven Reineke, $24-$104
July 4: The Commodores, $33-$140
July 5: Ziggy Marley, with The San Diego Symphony, $33-$140
July 6: Harry Connick Jr., $46-$225
July 7: “The Music of Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder,” with the San Diego Symphony, conducted by Ted Sperling, $24-$104
July 12: “Beethoven by the Bay,” Beethoven’s Overture to Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43, Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61, Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, featuring guest conductor Nicolas Ellis and violinist Geneva Lewis, $24-$104
July 19: “Field of Dreams in Concert,” featuring the San Diego Symphony, conducted by Nicholas Buc , $24-$104
July 20: “Disney in Concert: The Sound of Magic,” featuring the San Diego Symphony, conducted by Nicholas Buc, $24-$104
Melissa Etheridge will perform at The Shell on a double-bill with former San Diego troubadour Jewel.
(Getty Images)
July 23: Jewel and Melissa Etheridge, $46-$225
Aug. 2: “RENT in Concert,” featuring the San Diego Symphony, conducted by Sean O’Loughlin, $33-$140
Aug. 4: Los Lobos & Los Lonely Boys “The Brotherhood Tour,” with Son Rompe Pera, 7 p.m., $24-$104
Aug. 9 & 10: “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert,” featuring the San Diego Symphony, conducted by Norman Huynh, $33-$140
Aug. 11: Jason Mraz, with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sean O’Loughlin, $46-$225
Aug. 15: John Legend: “A Night of Songs and Stories,” with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Anthony Parnther, $70-$350
Aug. 16: “Totally ‘80s,” with the San Diego Symphony, conducted by Stuart Chafetz, featuring singers Aaron Finley and Nicole Parker, $24-$104
Trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, the San Diego Symphony’s jazz curator, will head a Miles Davis tribute concert at The Shell on Aug. 17.
(La Jolla Community Center)
Aug. 17: Gilbert Castellanos performs Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue,” featuring Joel Frahm, Donald Vega, Willie Jones III, Danton Boller and James Mahone, $21-$78
Aug. 18: Gipsy Kings, featuring Nicolas Reyes, $35-$142
Aug. 23: “Sondheim Tonight! A Celebration of Genius,” with the San Diego Symphony, conducted by Rob Fisher, $24-$104
Aug. 24: Gary Clark Jr., $33-$140
Aug. 25: Pink Martini, featuring China Forbes, 30th Anniversary Tour, featuring the San Diego Symphony, $33-$140
Aug. 30: “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” — Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, “1812” Overture, Op. 49, featuring San Diego Symphony Music Director Rafael Payare and violinist Blake Pouliot, $24-$104
Aug. 31: Classic Albums Live performs The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” $24-$104
Sept. 1: The Beach Boys, $46-$225
Trombone Shorty will perform this summer at The Shell for the third time since the venue opened in 2021.
(Justen Williams / Courtesy Blue Note Records
)
Sept. 6: Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, with Big Boi, 7 p.m., $33-$140
Sept. 21: Classic Albums Live Performs Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours,” $24-$104
Oct. 3: “Experience Hendrix,” featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Dweezil Zappa, 7 p.m., $33-$125
Oct. 6: The Avett Brothers, $55-$175
Series ticket packages go on sale March 3 at 10 a.m. online at sandiegosymphony.org, by phone at (619) 235-0804, and at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park box office, 222 Marina Park Way, downtown. Single ticket sales will be announced at a later date.
Season ticket packages prices range from $60 to $886, and include: Friday A — 8 concerts, Friday B — 4 concerts, and Friday C — 4 concerts; Saturday A — 7 concerts, Saturday B — 4 concerts and Saturday C — 3 concerts, and Sunday A — 7 concerts, Sunday B — 4 concerts and Sunday C — 3 concerts.