San Diego renews maestro to 2026

At a time of suttered halls and mass unemployment, the Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare has secured his involvement with the San Diego Symphony until the 2025-26 season.

“As a musician Rafael Payare has the perfect balance of making the musicians feel secure and at the same time, taking necessary artistic risks to make each and every performance exciting,” said Martha Gilmer, San Diego Symphony CEO. “While he strives for the highest level of precision, he asks every musician to be their most expressive self which creates riveting, impactful and emotional performances for our musicians and our audiences. His artistry, humanity and warmth has created a strong bond with our public. With this contract extension we assure that the work of Rafael with the musicians of San Diego continues, assuring the very strong and vital future of the San Diego Symphony.”

Walks on water, too?