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The Midtown Men, founded by four seasoned Broadway performers – Christian Hoff, Michael Longoria, Daniel Reichard and J. Robert Spencer – embody the essence of a bygone era while infusing it with contemporary flair. Brought together in the Original Broadway Cast of the Tony Award-winning musical "Jersey Boys," this dynamic quartet captivates audiences with their harmonious blend of voices, charismatic stage presence, and a repertoire that seamlessly weaves together iconic hits from the 1960s. With a shared passion for preserving the legacy of classic rock and pop, The Midtown Men bring infectious energy to their performances, delivering a nostalgic journey through time that transcends generations and leaves an indelible mark on the hearts of music lovers everywhere! Please note: The San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this Jacobs Music Center Special Presentation. The Midtown Men on Facebook / Instagram

Friday, 11 a.m. Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Rafael Payare, conductor Ricardo Morales, clarinet ESTÉVEZ: "Midday on the Plains" (Mediodía en el llano) SALONEN: "kínema" BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story" RACHMANINOFF: "Symphonic Dances," Op. 45 This program unites a beloved Venezuelan tone poem with three works by composer conductors who shaped modern music. Antonio Estévez’s "Mediodía en el llano" (1942) captures the heat and stillness of Venezuela’s central plains, Los Llanos. Originally part of a three movement suite portraying dawn, midday, and evening, it evokes the bright intensity of noon on the expansive grasslands, suffused with lyrical beauty and local color. Finnish composer Esa Pekka Salonen’s "kinema," written in 2021, is a gentle clarinet concerto drawn from film music created during the pandemic. Its five movements – Dawn, Theme and Variations, Pérotin Dream, J.D. in memoriam, and Return – move from shimmering light to reflective lyricism and renewal. Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story" transforms his landmark Broadway score into a symphonic suite that distills the story’s passion, violence, and reconciliation, brimming with rhythm and theatrical brilliance. Rachmaninoff’s "Symphonic Dances" (1940), his final composition, reflects on a lifetime of memory and exile. Written in America yet steeped in nostalgia for Russia, its sweeping melodies and radiant conclusion – echoing his "All Night Vespers" – proclaim a final “Hallelujah.” Together, these four works create a journey across lands and eras, celebrating color, movement, and the enduring human voice in music. San Diego Symphony on Facebook / Instagram

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. Rafael Payare, conductor Joshua Brown, violin GABRIELA ORTIZ: "Kauyumari" SHOSTAKOVICH: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 99 BARTÓK: Suite from "The Miraculous Mandarin," Op. 19 STRAVINSKY: "The Firebird Suite" (1919 version) Mexico, Russia, and Hungary converge in a dazzling celebration of rhythm, color, and movement. Gabriela Ortiz’s "Kauyumari" (2021), written for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, opens the program with explosive dance rhythms and luminous orchestral color. The title – “Blue Deer” in the Huichol language – refers to a visionary figure in that Indigenous culture, a symbol of hope and healing. Ortiz adapts a traditional Huichol melody into a joyful, propulsive orchestral showpiece. Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1, composed under Stalin’s terror yet premiered only after his death, moves from shadowy introspection to incandescent virtuosity. Written for the legendary David Oistrakh, it fuses anguish, irony, and klezmer tinged exuberance in one of the century’s great concertos. Bartók’s Suite from "The Miraculous Mandarin" bristles with raw power and sensuality. A modern day fable of violence and compassion, it stunned early audiences with its intensity and remains one of Bartók’s most daring scores. Stravinsky’s "Firebird Suite" crowns the evening with radiant, fairy tale splendor. Written for Diaghilev’s "Ballets Russes," it brims with shimmering orchestral colors and the triumph of light over darkness – music that heralded a new age of sound. San Diego Symphony on Facebook / Instagram

Chad Goodman, conductor San Diego Symphony Orchestra NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: “Flight of the Bumblebee” from 1"Tale of the Tsar Saltan" GIOACHINO ROSSINI: Overture to "William Tell" FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN: "Allegro spiritoso" from Symphony No. 83 in G minor, "The Hen" DMITRI KABALEVSKY: "Galop" from "The Comedians," Op. 26 FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN: "Vivace" from Symphony No. 82 in C Major, "The Bear" CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS: "Carnival of the Animals" Get ready for a musical safari! From buzzing bumblebees and clucking hens to proud lions, hopping kangaroos, and graceful swans, the San Diego Symphony brings the animal kingdom to life through color, rhythm, and imagination. Families will hear how music paints pictures – how strings can flutter like wings, how pianos can trot like donkeys, and how melodies can dive, leap, strut, and soar. Join us for hands-on activities, animal-themed crafts, and a joyful orchestra adventure where every creature has a musical voice, and every family belongs in the wonder of live music. San Diego Symphony on Facebook / Instagram

Friday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. Edward Gardner, conductor Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano MENDELSSOHN: "Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage," Op. 27 TCHAIKOVSKY: "The Tempest Fantasy-Overture," Op. 18 RAVEL: "Shéhérazade" DEBUSSY: "La mer" British conductor Edward Gardner leads a vivid, ocean themed program exploring humanity’s eternal fascination with the sea – its stillness, storms, and mystery. Mendelssohn’s youthful concert overture "Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage," inspired by Goethe’s poem, captures the peril of a ship becalmed with no wind to move it – an image of both physical and spiritual stagnation. A breath of air stirs, the sails fill, and the music surges with joyful momentum toward open waters. Tchaikovsky’s "The Tempest," after Shakespeare, transforms Prospero’s magical island into a world of tempest and tenderness, combining tempestuous storms with luminous love music for Miranda and Ferdinand before peace is restored. Ravel’s sumptuous "Shéhérazade," based on orientalist poems, evokes exotic voyages and sensual dreamscapes through glowing orchestral color and the voice’s seductive allure. Debussy’s "La mer," perhaps the most famous musical portrait of the sea, closes the program. Its three movements – "From Dawn to Noon on the Sea," "Play of the Waves," and "Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea" – trace the ocean’s transformations from calm to tempest and serenity again. For Debussy, the sea becomes both natural and human – vast, unpredictable, and deeply emotional. San Diego Symphony on Facebook / Instagram

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. Bernard Labadie, conductor Benedetto Lupo, piano MOZART: "Chaconne" from Idomeneo MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488 MOZART: Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551, “Jupiter” An evening devoted to Mozart, led by renowned 18th century specialist Bernard Labadie, celebrates the composer’s genius for drama, beauty, and invention. The concert opens with the ballet music from Idomeneo, Mozart’s first mature opera, written at age 24 for a grand Munich celebration. Its Chaconne – composed in a creative burst just before the premiere – combines elegance and vitality, recalling the glittering court ballets of Versailles. Benedetto Lupo performs the Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, completed in 1786 alongside "The Marriage of Figaro." Often described as Mozart’s most perfect concerto, it blends radiant lyricism with delicate melancholy, sunlight touched by shadow. Both works capture his uncanny gift for expressing the full range of human emotion through music of clarity and grace. The concert concludes with Symphony No. 41 in C Major, “Jupiter,” Mozart’s final symphony and one of the greatest achievements in Western music. Composed – alongside two companion works – in the miraculous summer of 1788, it unites brilliance and grandeur in a dazzling finale of contrapuntal mastery that anticipates Beethoven while recalling Bach. Together, these pieces reveal Mozart at his height: a composer of boundless imagination and emotional truth whose music continues to astonish with its vitality, balance, and transcendence. San Diego Symphony on Facebook / Instagram

Saturday, 10 a.m. & 11:30 a.m. Tap, shake, rattle and roll! This interactive, sensory-friendly concert invites little listeners to explore the rhythms of drums, shakers, tambourines and chimes. Children will hear how music can count, bounce, whisper and roar – all starting with a familiar nursery rhyme. Designed especially for ages 0–5, this experience welcomes wiggles, claps and joyful noise. A magical first step into the world of percussion. These 30-minute interactive concerts are sensory-friendly and designed with little ones in mind. Sing-alongs, rhymes, dances and musical games will engage your child while introducing them to the instruments of the orchestra. San Diego Symphony on Facebook / Instagram

Experience an Unforgettable Evening with Leslie Odom, Jr. Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning artist Leslie Odom, Jr. brings his extraordinary voice, magnetic stage presence, and genre-spanning artistry to the stage for an evening of music that is soulful, sophisticated, and deeply moving. This captivating concert features selections from the American Songbook, reimagined pop favorites, and beloved musical theater classics – including special performances of songs from "Hamilton," the Broadway phenomenon that earned Odom a Tony Award for his iconic portrayal of Aaron Burr. With his signature charm, stunning vocals, and heartfelt storytelling, Leslie Odom, Jr. creates a live experience that is intimate, inspiring, and unforgettable. Join us for a night of timeless music, powerful emotion, and the unmatched artistry of one of today’s most celebrated performers. Please note: The San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this concert. Leslie Odom, Jr. on Facebook / Instagram

Michelle Di Russo, conductor San Diego Symphony Orchestra LI HUANZHI: Spring Festival Overture CLAUDE DEBUSSY(orch. ARTHUR LUCK): Clair de lune LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: "Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arrival in the Country" from Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastorale" DAI WEI: Awakening Lion VIET CUONG: Across the Bridge AN-LUN HUANG: Saibei Dance Celebrate the Lunar New Year with the San Diego Symphony in a joyful concert filled with color, rhythm, and new beginnings. You’ll hear festive dances, the peaceful glow of Clair de lune, and the playful spirit of the Spring Festival Overture. This program blends tradition, imagination, and music that rings in The Year of the Goat! Come early for hands-on crafts, cultural activities, and family photo spots that make this celebration a Symphony tradition for all. San Diego Symphony on Facebook/Instagram

Gilbert Castellanos and a lineup of stellar jazz musicians will play Billie Holiday’s "All or Nothing at All," paying homage to “Lady Day’s” sound. Released in 1958, "All of Nothing at All" is made up of 12 songs previously recorded in 1956 and 1957. The album has some of her most well-known songs, including “April in Paris”, “Cheek to Cheek”, and "Our Love Is Here to Stay". A perfect concert to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your special someone. Please note: The San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this Jazz @ The Jacobs concert.