Mainly Mozart’s “All-Star Orchestra Festival” Expands to Three California Venues

“After setting consecutive attendance records over the past two years by making a pandemic-fueled pivot to a new outdoor venue, Mainly Mozart’s All-Star Orchestra Festival will expand from one location to three for its 2023 edition,” writes George Varga in Thursday’s (3/16) San Diego Union Tribune.  “This year’s six-concert fete will kick off June 15 through 18 on the expansive lawns of the Del Mar Surf Cup Sports Park, where the 2022 and 2021 editions of the now 35-year-old chamber-music festival were held. The opening weekend in Del Mar will be followed by concerts at two La Jolla venues, starting with a June 20 performance of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall. The festival will conclude June 22 and 24 with concerts at UC San Diego’s new Epstein Family Amphitheater…. What will remain the same is the festival’s unique format of featuring ensembles comprised entirely of concertmasters from the nation’s top symphony orchestras, conducted by Mainly Mozart music director Michael Francis. Ditto the showcasing of acclaimed soloists, which this year includes pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, violinists Karen Gomyo and Martin Chalifour, and pianist and soprano singer Chelsea Guo.”