SAN DIEGO The San Diego Symphony will hold four free concerts which began Wednesday under the “Your Song, Your Story” initiative funded by the James Irvine Foundation with residents of historically underserved neighborhoods who helped create and will perform in the program.
The concerts, developed by “Rocky” theme composer Bill Conti, will occur at the Jacobs Music Center, The Joan B. Kroc Theatre, the Embarcadero Park South and Lincoln High School.
“These concerts are the culmination of a two-year audience engagement initiative that departs from the San Diego Symphony’s traditional community approach,” said Leonor Perez, Ph.D., Artistic Projects Manager of the San Diego Symphony. “People of all ages and backgrounds uploaded videos of music, stories and dance routines onto the project website at YourSongYourStory.org. These contributions were the source for Bill Conti’s composition and as such involved submitters in artistic co-creation.”
Of the more than 320 entries submitted, 18 were selected for inclusion in Conti’s original orchestral piece. The Symphony will perform this composition along with video recorded and live community and multicultural performers. The free concerts will include free food and family activities at receptions and block parties that are open to the public and will take place as follows:
July 15, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at The Joan B. Kroc Theatre
July 15, 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. at Embarcadero Marina Park South
July 17, 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at Lincoln High School
Oscar® and five-time Emmy® Award-winner Bill Conti is one of Hollywood’s most respected composers and conductors for both film and television. His compositions have sold in excess of eight million albums, and he is in great demand as a conductor of symphony orchestras throughout the United States. On November 10, 1989, his rich contributions to the entertainment industry were recognized when a star bearing his name was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1995 the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) awarded Conti the Golden Soundtrack Award for lifetime achievement in film and television. For the silver screen, Bill Conti composed the musical scores for many box office giants including Broadcast News, Baby Boom, F/X, The Karate Kid, Goldie Hawn’s military romp Private Benjamin and Spy Hard. He won an Oscar® for Best Original Score for The Right Stuff in 1983 and received two Oscar® nominations for Best Original Song – one for the Sheena Easton hit record “For Your Eyes Only” from the James Bond picture of the same title and one for “Gonna Fly Now,” the powerful anthem from the 1976 Academy Award-winning Best Picture, Rocky.
The local groups that were included in the final contribution are:
Soaring Eagles
Mexi’cayotl
Imahen Taotao Tano
Samahan Philippine Dance Company
Te Rahiti Nui
Mariachi Garibaldi
DanzArts
Malashock Dance Company
Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Choir
Naruwan Taiko
Catalina Balbuena from Tijuana, Mexico
Carol Cabrera, Vocalist & Guitarist
Bobby Simmons, Congas
Joshua and Terry Josiah Sharpe
Luay Yousif of St. Peters Chaldean Catholic Church
Liz Brown of Trinity Baptist Church
Tickets are free, but seats are limited. More information is available at http://yoursongyourstory.
