UK conductor is the force behind San Diego’s bold new performance space
mainMark Stephenson, a conductor with several recordings to his credit, has been named as the originator of a shell-like performance space for the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.
A former cellist with the Philharmonia Orchestra, where he was picked at 21 by Riccardo Muti, Mark went on to found the London Musici with whom he made important recordings of the music of Andrzej Panufnik and Malcolm Arnold.
He has also taken a strong interest in music making in Iran.
Press release below.
The San Diego Symphony Orchestra has appointed Soundforms to design a bespoke Performance Shell to be permanently installed as the open-air stage for its new San Diego Symphony Bayside Performance Park. Soundforms is a UK based consortium that was founded by Mark Stephenson (Classical Musician and Conductor). The consortium includes Flanagan Lawrence (Architects), ES Global (Staging Company & Project Manager), Expedition (Structural Engineers) and HarrisonParrott, the Artist & Project
Management Agency that introduced the Soundforms Performance Shell to the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.
Soundforms is a UK based consortium that was founded by Mark Stephenson (Classical Musician and Conductor). The consortium includes Flanagan Lawrence (Architects), ES Global (Staging Company & Project Manager), Expedition (Structural Engineers) and HarrisonParrott (Artist Representation & Project Management Music Agency), which introduced Soundforms to the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.
The Soundforms Performance Shell is a scaled up version of the product used on the London 2012 Olympic Park. The stage will accommodate an orchestra size of up to a 150 musicians and choir, with a front of stage width of 32M, a depth of 20M. The roof cantilevers 15M from the front of the stage and can carry a payload of up to 50T. The stage will incorporate a state-of-the-art
‘Constellation’ sound system, designed and engineered by Meyer Sound. This system will provide an exemplary sound environment on stage for the musicians of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, whilst also providing the technical flexibility required for a variety of other performances, including Pop, Jazz and Film.
Looks like The Time Tunnel.
This is a total waste of money. What will be played there is the San Diego Symphony’s Summer Pops, featuring such “classics(??!!)” as Tux ‘N Tennies Summer Bash Starring Toni Braxton”; “Kool & the Gang Get Down On It”; “Abba-Mania”; “Distant Worlds–Music from Final Fantasy”; “Michael Cavanaugh Sings the Music of Elton John”; “Sha Na Na–40th Anniversary Celebration”; “Burt Bacharach–The Look of Love”; and “Leann Rimes” (from such a schedule from a few years ago). They might as well play that junk in a wind tunnel with the fans going full blast..
Sorry to say, you 1) have very limited music interest, 2) don’t know anything about the programing that the orchestra is planning to expand with a permanent shell, especially classical programs, and 3)are a prick.
Or the alternative view is that they feel that this is a worthwhile commercial investment and that audiences will want to pay to hear what gets performed there…
It looks like a medical instrument to relieve constipation.