Mainly Mozart: Music, Innovation, Community
A cultural icon celebrated for its imaginative and thoughtfully curated programming, artistic excellence, and distinguished history of acclaimed performances, San Diego’s Mainly Mozart Festival is one of North America’s top music destinations.
Mainly Mozart’s mission is to enrich the lives of today’s and tomorrow’s passionate music lovers by connecting them to the genius and innovation of Mozart and the Masters, to world-class musicians and music-making, and to each other.
We produce the largest summer music festival in the region during the May/June Mainly Mozart Festival. Over 2013’s six week Festival, 11,00 attendees experienced Mozart and what his genius inspires – as we became a centerpiece for summer culture, a showcase for innovation, and a gathering place for people to share passion, joy, and inspiration.
Concertmasters and principal musicians from the country’s foremost orchestras gather annually to join the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, welcomed by our community.
In addition to the Festival Orchestra, Mainly Mozart has expanded Festival programming to engage new audiences through three new series. Mozart & the Mind, led by neuroscientist and musician, Tim Mullen, is a collaborative exploration of the Music-Brain effect that merges research, technology, and art while exploring the neurobiology of music and its role in cognitive issues.
Evolution, created by pianist, composer, and arranger Stephen Prutsman, is a celebration of today’s musical innovators with groundbreaking one-night self-produced programs that meld classical, blues, jazz, contemporary, and alternative music. Chamber Players is defined by Artistic Director Emeritus of the Boston Chamber Music Society, and cellist Ronald Thomas as a thoughtfully curated series programmed to complement the orchestral repertoire.
We also produce the longest-running chamber music series, the Spotlight Chamber Music Series. Curated by programmer and pianist, Anne-Marie McDermott, the series runs from January through June and presents the works of Mozart and the Masters in intimate settings.
Mainly Mozart also produces members-only intimate performances year-round for members of Club Amadeus, our aficionado group that is made up of some of San Diego’s most committed and passionate music lovers.
This past year, Mainly Mozart was proud to form new community partnerships and collaborations that allowed us to provide over 1,000 free tickets to families in need, free concerts in a variety of locations – including concerts for children and young adults on the autism spectrum at Vista Hill’s Stein Education Center – and 24 in-school education programs in Tijuana.
Our aim is to continue to invest in our Artistic family, deepen our connection with students and adult amateur musicians, and continue to serve as a model in cross-border collaboration. We celebrate the historic merger and formation of the Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra, and its status as the first-ever orchestra-in-residence at The New Children’s Museum in downtown, San Diego.
Mainly Mozart’s venues are eclectic – the Spotlight Chamber Series encompasses the acoustically superb Auditorium at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI; formerly The Neurosciences Institute), the striking St. Elizabeth Seton Church, in Carlsbad, and the elegant intimacy of The Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club, nestled in the heart of the Village.
Mozart & the Mind has also found its home at the Auditorium at TSRI, Evolution has found a match in the whimsically restored Abbey in Banker’s Hill, and Chamber Players serves north county residents at The Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium and spends the rest of its time at the exquisite Timken Museum in Balboa Park.
As mentioned, the Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra (MMYO) resides at The New Children’s Museum, with other performance opportunities throughout San Diego County during the year. The Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra returns again to the brilliantly restored historic Balboa Theatre in downtown, San Diego. In addition, Mainly Mozart offers cross-border performances at Tijuana’s contemporary El Cubo – Centro Cultural Tijuana.
Mainly Mozart Contact Info
Mainly Mozart
404 Euclid Ave #301
San Diego, CA 92114
www.mainlymozart.org
