San Diego Symphony Hosts World Premiere Featuring Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers

The San Diego Symphony will present the world premiere of Adam Schoenberg's Orchard in Fog for Violin and Orchestra during the Jacobs Masterworks concert Preludes and Premiere. Adam Schoenberg, who was inspired in part by a photograph by Massachusetts graphic artist Adam Laipson, wrote this piece specifically for violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, who will perform the work. San Diego Symphony Associate Conductor Sameer Patel will make his Jacobs Masterworks debut conducting the San Diego Symphony Orchestra in two performances Saturday, February 10, 2018, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, February 11 at 2 p.m.

"We are delighted to present this world premiere," said Martha Gilmer, San Diego Symphony CEO. "Two years ago, we performed Adam's lovely work, Finding Rothko, so it is our great pleasure not only to present his new piece, but to have Anne Akiko Meyers, for whom it was commissioned, perform it with us."

Anne Akiko Meyers is one of the most in demand violinists in the world. Regularly appearing as guest soloist with the world's top orchestras, she presents groundbreaking recitals and is a best-selling recording artist with 35 albums. Ms. Meyers is known for her passionate performances, purity of sound, deeply poetic interpretations, innovative programming and commitment to commissioning significant new works from young composers. Among those composers is Adam Schoenberg, who was recently named one of the top 10 most performed living classical composers by orchestras in the U.S. Mr. Schoenberg also received two 2018 Grammy nominations for his work Picture Studies, nominated for Best Contemporary Classical Composition, and his album Adam Schoenberg: American Symphony, Finding Rothko & Picture Studies for Best Engineered Album, Classical.

This is the first world premiere of completely new music by the San Diego Symphony since the December 2014 performances of David Bruce's Fagile Light violin concerto, with Gil Shaham as soloist. The Preludes and Premiere concert will open with Franz Liszt's popular tone poem, Les Preludes, in which he paints feelings rather than pictures in a series of delightfully contrasting episodes built from a few simple themes. Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers will then perform the world premiere of Orchard in Fog. The program will conclude with Jean Sibelius' hopeful, life-affirming Symphony No. 5, composed as Europe was recovering from the First World War. Conductor Sameer Patel, who was appointed Associate Conductor of the San Diego Symphony in 2016 will be making his Jacobs Masterworks debut with these concerts. As Associate Conductor, he has led all of the symphony's family programs, community concerts, and young people's concerts as well as several classical programs throughout the summer's Bayside Summer Nights.

Tickets are currently on sale. To purchase, visit www.sandiegosymphony.org or call the box office at 619.235.0804. Guests may also visit the San Diego Symphony Jacobs Music Center Copley Symphony Hall box office at 750 B Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

About the San Diego Symphony

Founded in 1910, the San Diego Symphony is the oldest orchestra in California and one of the largest and most significant cultural organizations in San Diego. The Orchestra performs for over 250,000 people each season, offering a wide variety of programming at its two much loved venues, Copley Symphony Hall in downtown San Diego and the Embarcadero Marina Park South on San Diego Bay. The orchestra's 82 full-time musicians, graduates of the finest and most celebrated music schools in the United States and abroad, also serve as the orchestra for the San Diego Opera each season, as well as performing at several regional performing arts centers. For over 30 years, the San Diego Symphony has provided comprehensive music education and community engagement programs reaching more than 65,000 students annually and bringing innovative programming to San Diego's diverse neighborhoods and schools. For more information, visit www.sandiegosymphony.org.