Two downtown music series for children featuring The San Diego Symphony Orchestra at the new Jacobs Music Center are set to begin this fall.
A three-part Family Concert Series (for ages 6-12) kicks off in late October. These one-hour concerts will include the full orchestra and take place on Saturdays at 11 a.m.
A Symphony Kids Series (for children up to 5 years old) begins November 1. This series is also scheduled for Saturday mornings and will feature smaller groups of musicians playing 30-minute concerts. Of note: This is a sensory-friendly performance created with guidance from the San Diego State University Center for Autism.
“Because the Symphony Kids Series is inclusive for neurodivergent kids, we expect that parents with teens might also want to attend and that’s appropriate,” San Diego Symphony Director of Learning and Youth Programs Stephen Salts says.
During the Symphony Kids Series programs, there will be a separate Quiet Zone available for those who might need a break or like to watch the live performance on a screen without the audio.
Salts says the Symphony’s programming for younger audiences just got back off the ground last year. Those series were interrupted by Covid and then by the renovation of the Jacobs Music Center.
“We found that so many of our kids had aged out,” Salts says.
The two series are part of the attempt to win back those younger audiences.
First up is the Family Concert Series and the October 25 Halloween-themed show “Spooky Sounds and Magical Melodies.” Salts says all the shows in this series will include the full, 80-musician orchestra and the programs will be highly story oriented.
The remaining programs in the series are: “Peter and the Wolf” (February 7) and “Space Junk” (April 11).
The four-part Symphony for Kids series schedule is: “Meet the Winds” (November 1); “Meet The Brass” (December 13); “Meet the Percussion” (February 14); and “Meet the Strings” (March 28).
Doors for both series will open one hour early for pre-concert readings, crafts and other age-appropriate activities.
Tickets for all performances can be bought individually or as a series package. For more information go to: Symphony Tickets. SDSun
