San Diego Symphony Kicks Off The New Year With Festival + Must-See Performances

The Symphony has an exciting line-up to kick-off the New Year-starting with its annual January festival entitled, "Hearing the Future." Returning for its fourth year, the month-long festival explores the concept of "creation" and the artistic expression that springs from youthful composers and artists. The festival is curated by composer-conductor and 2018 MacArthur Fellow and Genius Award recipient Matthew Aucoin, a passionate futurist at the age of 28. His ideas on music, theater, poetry, and the world stage reflect his youthful perspective with fervor and an infectious enthusiasm as to what is possible.

The exploration begins with the first concerts conducted by San Diego Symphony's Music Director Designate Rafael Payare. In two programs in the span of one week, Payare will provide a prospective glimpse of his creative vision as the 13th music director.

January Highlights:

[January 10-13] Rafael Payare's Inaugural Performances:
As part of the Symphony's January Festival, Music Director Designate Rafael Payare's highly-anticipated debut with the San Diego Symphony kicks off January 10 with music from Mozart, Strauss, Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky. All funds from this concert support the Symphony's Learning and Community Engagement programs. Payare then joins acclaimed cellist Alisa Weilerstein (and wife!) in a Jacobs Masterworks performance on January 11, January 12 and January 13.

[January 19] Beyond the Score Symphonie Fantastique:
The world of classical music forever when composer Hector Berlioz unleashed his Symphonie fantastique onto unsuspecting audiences in 1830. Set to wow concertgoers, this theatrical presentation tells the story of an artist's self-destructive passion for a beautiful woman. The music takes an in-depth journey into the heart of Berlioz's life-his struggles and his passions.

[January 24, 25, 27] Matt's Playlist - Echoes of the Future:
Enjoy the concert version of a playlist curated by composer-conductor and 2018 MacArthur "Genius Grant" Award recipient Matthew Aucoin. "Matt's Playlist" shuffles music written in radically different times and places and allows us to hear music in new ways and discover new and unexpected connections between new music and music written centuries ago - all of which looks ahead to the future. The New York Times recently called Matt's Playlist a "delightfully idiosyncratic program" in their annual Classical Music Fall Season Preview!

A complete festival line-up is also available at www.sandiegosymphony.org/festival.