Sound of Two Cities

The San Diego Symphony and Canada's Orchestre symphonique de Montréal are sharing the stage at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park on Friday, October 30, for a concert called Sound of Two Cities. It's the centerpiece of the symphony's Beyond Borders initiative, a North American music project led by Music and Artistic Director Rafael Payare, who conducts both orchestras.

The program is built around the two ensembles taking turns and then coming together. The San Diego Symphony opens with Bartók's Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin, and the OSM follows with Ravel's Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé. For the second half, the two orchestras join forces on Prokofiev's Scythian Suite and Respighi's Pines of Rome.

There's a specific reason for the pairing. Payare is a product of Venezuela's El Sistema program, and he now leads both the San Diego Symphony and the OSM. Beyond Borders is his project to bring the two orchestras together on one stage to bridge differences across borders and foster artistic exchange between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The collaboration doesn't stop here: it continues with the U.S. premiere of a joint commission, Jimmy López's Symphony No. 6 'Monarch', and with the symphony's work in Mexico, including performances at the Tijuana Cultural Center and student encounters in the Baja California Sistema program.

It's a big night for the local orchestra, and it's free. The concert starts at 7:30 PM on Friday, October 30, at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park.