In Tuesday’s (2/5) Union-Times (San Diego, California), James Chute reports, “San Diego already has the ‘world famous’ San Diego Zoo. It may soon have the ‘world famous’ San Diego Symphony. The orchestra’s board of directors late last week approved a Nov. 2-8 tour of China that will include performances in Shanghai, Beijing and San Diego’s sister city, Yantai, marking the first time the orchestra has toured outside North America in its 102-year history. The China concerts immediately follow the orchestra’s first performance in New York’s Carnegie Hall, which had already been set for Oct. 29. … The China portion of the tour is expected to cost approximately $1.8 million. The Carnegie Hall concert will cost an additional $300,000, which the board had approved last year. The tour’s funding was raised separately from the orchestra’s $20.8 million 2013 operating budget, and it was largely covered by several of the ensemble’s principal patrons, including Sam Ersan and Joan and Irwin Jacobs. Still, fundraising, especially from potential corporate sponsors for the tour, continues, according to [Executive Director Edward ‘Ward’] Gill. … All of the tour concerts will be conducted by the San Diego Symphony’s music director, Jahja Ling.”
Posted February 5, 2012
