Inside the San Diego Symphony's $125 million renovated home
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Grand tier view of Jacobs Music Center. Photo: Richard Barnes, Courtesy San Diego Symphony
The San Diego Symphony Orchestra is ready to unveil its $125 million renovation of the Jacobs Music Center.
Why it matters: The four-year construction project preserved the historical legacy of the century-old theater while modernizing its acoustics, sightlines and functionality to give the symphony a state-of-the-art home.
- "This is a gift to the city," said Martha Gilmer, symphony president and CEO.
Driving the news: The San Diego Symphony is unveiling the transformed theater during a free Day of Music on Sept. 29, 11am-6pm, with more than a dozen live performances.
- That is the finale to an opening weekend that begins with a ribbon cutting on Friday, Sept. 27, and will also include a Saturday gala and a Thursday night "hard-hat concert" for the workers who revitalized the space and their families.
Zoom in: The renovation brought the back wall forward and the side walls in, eliminating acoustic distortions created by the previous design and shrinking the theater's capacity by roughly 500 seats.
- Seats under the smaller balcony overhang now sound as good as any other, said Paul Scarbrough during a media preview. He's with the firm Akustiks, which worked on the project.
- In place of seating on the sides are hallways leading to side entrances that block sound and light from the theater.
Catch up quick: The Jacobs Music Center, formerly called Copley Symphony Hall, opened in 1929 as the Fox Theatre movie palace.
- "This was a movie theater — it is now a beautiful concert venue," said David Snyder, chair of the symphony's board.
Fun fact: Pre-renovation, the venue's HVAC and electrical systems were located under the theater, creating vibrations and noises that musicians could hear during quiet sections of performances.
- Those systems were relocated to the space between the theater's ceiling and the building's parking garage above it, and it's suspended to prevent audible vibrations.
- The space it vacated was refashioned into practice rooms for musicians.
The bottom line: The $125 million project, which was initially scheduled for completion about a year ago, is opening three years after the completion of Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, an $85 million venue that is the symphony's first permanent outdoor home.