In its 103rd season, California’s oldest orchestra, San Diego Symphony, makes its highly anticipated Carnegie Hall debut Tuesday, October 29 at 8:00pm in Isaac Stern Auditorium. The concert, led by San Diego Symphony Music Director Jahja Ling, features a guest performance by world renowned pianist Lang Lang in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The evening also includes the New York premiere and San Diego Symphony commission of composer David Bruce’s Night Parade and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5.

David Bruce’s Night Parade explores the idea of juxtaposing thrilling darkness with the excitement of potential unknown danger.  When asked his thoughts on writing an orchestral showpiece for the San Diego Symphony, David Bruce explained, “Many of the things we find most fun and exciting are also a bit dangerous...it’s the danger itself that gives us the ‘thrill’. Similarly, many of the orchestral pieces I find most exciting also contain hints of darkness and danger mixed in.”  As the Symphony’s 2013-14 Associate Composer, David Bruce’s Night Parade receives its world premiere in San Diego October 4, 2013 and New York premiere at Carnegie Hall.

On the historic event of the Symphony’s Carnegie Hall debut, Maestro Ling comments, "With this debut performance at Carnegie Hall, the San Diego Symphony will have reached a milestone in its history.  As one of the most prestigious concert venues in the world, San Diego Symphony's performance at Carnegie Hall represents years of hard work and artistic growth.  We are ready and look forward to performing for the New York audience." Music Director Jahja Ling has garnered an exceptional reputation worldwide for his musical integrity and expressivity.  He is the first and only conductor of Chinese descent to hold a music director position with a major United States orchestra and has conducted all major symphony orchestras in North America including Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Francisco.  The 2013-14 season marks Mr. Ling’s tenth season as music director of the San Diego Symphony and under his well-regarded leadership, the Symphony has released its first recordings in a decade with works by Bright Sheng for Telarc records, and a CD of Lucas Richman’s Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animalsdistributed by Naxos. Under his guidance, the Symphony has commissioned and premiered seven new works, increased the size of the orchestra by more than fifty percent and has been designated a Tier One major orchestra by the League of American Orchestras based on a new level of unprecedented artistic excellence, its continuing increase in audience attendance as well as its solid financial stability. 

Maestro Ling served as mentor to acclaimed pianist Lang Lang as he embarked upon his career in the United States.  TIME Magazine named Lang Lang one of the 100 most influential people in the world and his performanceat the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics was seen by over four billion people. Lang Lang continues to maintain his strong musical partnership with Maestro Ling and joins the San Diego Symphony as guest artist performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 at Carnegie Hall on October 29.

Following the San Diego Symphony’s monumental Carnegie Hall debut, the Orchestra immediately embarks upon an historic tour of China, marking the first international tour in the Orchestra’s 103-year history. Special guest violinists Joshua Bell and Augustin Hadelich join the Symphony for this two-week tour with concerts in Yantai, Shanghai and Beijing.

"Immediately following San Diego Symphony's historic performance in Carnegie Hall, the orchestra will take a giant leap onto the international stage as it embarks on its first-ever tour of Beijing, Shanghai and San Diego's sister city, Yantai, China.  These performances have taken years of planning and we are so pleased with the artistic and personal relationships we have forged over time.  We are confident of the orchestra's ability to perform magnificently and look forward to building a bridge of goodwill on this China Friendship Tour.  We thank all those who have made the tour possible with an enormous amount of gratitude going to Joan and Irwin Jacobs,"  states Edward B. 'Ward' Gill, chief executive officer of the San Diego Symphony.  

On January 14, 2002, the San Diego Symphony celebrated the announcement of the single largest donation ever made to a symphony orchestra, totaling $120 million. This pledged gift was generously given by Joan and Irwin Jacobs, solidifying a sustained period of stability for the orchestra marked by what has now been fifteen straight years of balanced budgets. As a result of this support, the Symphony has increased the musicians’ annual base salary, enlarged the length of its season and attracted the country’s finest instrumentalists to build a top ranking orchestra. The Symphony’s current annual budget is approximately $22 million.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013 8:00 PM
Carnegie Hall – Isaac Stern Auditorium
San Diego Symphony
Jahja Ling, Music Director, Conductor
Lang Lang, Piano
DAVID BRUCE Night Parade (NY Premiere)
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5

CHINA FRIENDSHIP TOUR
San Diego Symphony 
Jahja Ling, Music Director 

YANTAI
Saturday, November 2, 2013 7:30 PM
Yantai Poly Grand Theater
With Joshua Bell, Violin
BERNSTEIN Overture to Candide
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
DVORÁK Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88

Sunday, November 3, 2013 7:30 PM
Yantai Poly Grand Theater
With Augustin Hadelich, Violin
HARBISON Remembering Gatsby: Foxtrot for Orchestra
BARBER Violin Concerto, Op. 14
BERNSTEIN Symphonic Dances from West Side Story 
GERSHWIN An American in Paris

SHANGHAI 
Tuesday, November 5, 2013 7:30 PM
Shanghai Oriental Art Center
With Joshua Bell, Violin
HARBISON Remembering Gatsby: Foxtrot for Orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
BERNSTEIN Symphonic Dances from West Side Story 
GERSHWIN An American in Paris

BEIJING
Thursday, November 7, 2013 7:30 PM 
Beijing Mong Man Wai Concert Hall 
With Augustin Hadelich, Violin
BERNSTEIN Overture to Candide
BARBER Violin Concerto, Op. 14
DVORÁK Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88

Friday, November 8, 2013 7:30 PM
Beijing National Center for the Performing Arts
With Augustin Hadelich, Violin
BRUCE Night Parade
BARBER Violin Concerto, Op. 14
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100

ABOUT THE SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY

In the 103 years since its inception, the San Diego Symphony has become one of the leading orchestras in the United States and was designated a Tier 1 Orchestra by the League of American Orchestras in 2010. Under the spirited guidance of Music Director Jahja Ling, the Symphony is committed to providing musical experiences of superior quality for the greater San Diego community and beyond through its nearly 100 yearly concerts. With a rich mixture of innovative and educational programming designed to appeal to all ages and cultures, the Symphony makes music an integral part of the cultural and intellectual fabric of Southern California, valued by and relevant to all its residents. The San Diego Symphony is the first California orchestra to celebrate a centennial. Upon reaching this milestone, the Orchestra makes an historic “China Friendship” tour in 2013 in an effort to broaden and enrich its relationship with the People’s Republic.

ABOUT JAHJA LING

Jahja Ling’s distinguished career as an internationally renowned conductor has earned him an exceptional reputation for musical integrity, intensity and expressivity. The 2013-14 season marks his tenth season as Music Director of the San Diego Symphony. Under his leadership the San Diego Symphony has been designated a Tier One major orchestra by the League of American Symphony Orchestras. He is the first and only conductor of Chinese descent who holds a music director position with a major orchestra in the United States and has conducted all major symphony orchestras in North America including Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Francisco.  

In recent and upcoming seasons Mr. Ling returns as guest conductor with the Cleveland Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Jakarta Symphony, Macao Symphony, Philharmonia Taiwan (National Symphony of Taiwan), Royal Philharmonic of London, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Vancouver Symphony, as well as the Yale Philharmonia and Curtis Symphony Orchestra. In June of 2012 he conducted the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra in Berlin’s O2 World arena on the occasion of Lang Lang’s 30th birthday concert with Lang Lang, Herbie Hancock and 50 young pianists from around the world.  The concert was attended by more than 10,000 people and telecast live by German and Spanish television. Mr. Ling holds one of the longest continuous relationships with one of the world greatest orchestras, The Cleveland Orchestra.  In the 2008-09 season he celebrated his 25th anniversary season with that esteemed ensemble with performances at Severance Hall and Blossom Festival. He first served as Associate Conductor in the 1984-85 season, and then as Resident Conductor for 17 years from 1985-2002 and as Blossom Festival Director for six seasons (2000-05). During his tenure with the Orchestra, he conducted over 450 concerts and 600 works, including many world premieres.

ABOUT LANG LANG

Pianist Lang Lang continues to play sold out recitals and concerts in every major city in the world. In 2009, Lang Lang appeared in Time magazine's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. The year before, more than four billion people viewed his performance during the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games, where he was seen as a symbol of the youth and the future of China. He currently serves on Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute Advisory Council and is the youngest member of Carnegie Hall's Artistic Advisory Board. He has been named as one of the 250 Young Global Leaders picked by the World Economic Forum and received the 2010 Crystal Award in Davos. Lang Lang's biography, Journey of a Thousand Miles, was released to critical acclaim and has been published in 11 languages. As part of his commitment to the education of children, he released a version of his autobiography specifically for younger readers, entitled Playing with Flying Keys.

ABOUT DAVID BRUCE

Born in Stamford, Connecticut in 1970, composer David Bruce grew up in England and now enjoys a growing reputation on both sides of the Atlantic. In the 2013-14 season David is Associate Composer of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, for whom he will write three pieces, including a new work for the orchestra’s Carnegie Hall debut in October 2013 and a violin concerto for 2014. His fourth Carnegie Hall commission That Time with You(2013) for mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor follows Steampunk (2011), Gumboots (2008) and Piosenki (2006), which have all gone on to be widely performed by leading ensembles around the world. In the UK, David is 2012-13 Composer-in-Residence with the Royal Opera House in London. Together with The Opera Group, ROH co-commissioned the chamber opera The Firework Maker’s Daughter (after the Philip Pullman story) which tours the UK and New York in 2013. In 2012 David’s work for double choir and four horns, Fire, was one of twenty ‘20x12’ commissions celebrating the Cultural Olympiad.