Mainly Mozart’s All-Star Orchestra Festival at the Del Mar Surf Cup Sports Park. Photo: Ken Jacques/Mainly Mozart
“San Diego’s Mainly Mozart made national headlines in 2020 when the organization responded to the COVID-19 shutdown by introducing classical music drive-in concerts,” writes Beth Wood in Friday’s (6/10) San Diego Union-Tribune. “ ‘I think being the first out of the gate to produce live classical music for audiences, people think of us as risk-takers,’ said Mainly Mozart CEO and co-founder Nancy Laturno. ‘We were risk-takers, but we’ve been very conservative about moving audiences back indoors…. This summer we’re keeping our commitment to outdoor concerts.’ The Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra Festival will be held at the Del Mar Surf Cup Sports Park, beginning tonight and running through Saturday, June 18…. The festival opens with Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, featuring Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Boris Allakhverdyan, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4…. As in years past, the orchestra is made up of concertmasters and principal players from across the country. This summer, the festival will feature such notable soloists as violinist Augustin Hadelich, pianist Gilles Vonsattel and cellist Maximilian Hornung playing pieces by Mozart, Saint-Saëns and more. ‘[Music Director] Michael Francis is an extraordinary programmer,’ Laturno said. ‘And then he adds richness to it with his narration from stage.’ ”
