Not just for tourists,the summer concerts of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra have been a tradition for many years,although interrupted now and then by economic downturns.This year's series on Friday and Saturday nights,runs from June 28 to August 31st,with Matthew Garbutt as conductor for all but special programs. Tickets range from $15.00 to $59.00,and are available through the Symphony Ticket Office at Symphony Towers downtown. (619)-235-0804. From the Gershwin opener to the Tchaikovsky "1812 Overture" closing with cannons performance,the Pops affords a wonderful way for a couple to spend a weekend evening on the water enveloped by music.
A full list of the scheduled artists and themes of the 2002 Summer series is available at www.sandiego.citysearch.com. For opera buffs, big band era lovers, fans of Broadway musicals,or Lawrence Welk,or movie composers like Marvin Hamlish and Issac Hayes,the Pops offers a distinctly relaxing musical memory. For many summers, when we lived closer to downtown,we attended at least once a week in what was then a series with more performance dates than at present. We planned our summers around concert dates and attended with friends-a great way to keep in touch in a spread-out city.
Since we almost lost the San Diego Symphony and its Summer Pops during the severe recession of the early nineties,locals are especially supportive of the Pops series.On July 21 this year,Daniel Rodriguez will appear with the Summer Pops in "The Singing Policeman" concert, a commemorative of the past year's horrific event in New York City after which this tenor came to public attention,made several TV appearances and completed his first album.San Diego is still a city with deeply patriotic roots and a long military history,and this concert will probably be very popular. A wonderful way to end a sightseeing day,an evening at the Pops may well become one of your most indelible memories of San Diego. And, if you miss the August 31st concert, you can attend the free concert at Carlsbad's Poinsettia Park on September 1st.See "Celebrate Carlsbad"-a California City's 50th."