SAN DIEGO — With all the banging hammers and trucks backing up, there’s quite a racket on San Diego Bay. But coming this summer, the sounds coming from the horn-shaped building on the waterfront will no doubt be carried across the water for miles.
“While representative of a shell, therefore the name,” San Diego Symphony CEO Martha Gilmer said. “If you think about it, it’s more like a megaphone. It focuses the sound and pushes it out.”
Gilmer is standing behind the new permanent outdoor home of the San Diego Symphony. After delays in 2020, the aptly dubbed Shell is nearing completion. When it’s done, the venue will boast a state-of-the art sound system, expansive lighting and will be able to host up to 10,000 people.
“In the front tables of four where you can have a fully serviced meal, many terraces and up to where we’re standing right now, which is a flat space that’s probably going to be used for entertainment," she said.
So when can we expect to hear the silky strings and triumphant pianos of The San Diego Orchestra? Well, hopefully soon, but right now there’s no solid date for opening night.
“I can tell you that we will definitely open this summer. We’ve been holding our breath, getting to planning and talking to artists. What day in the summer I can’t really tell you, it’s very fresh news,” Gilmer said.
Although 2020 hit many professional musicians and concert halls particularly hard, Gilmer is hoping that, when it opens, The Shell will once again bring beautiful live music back to the area. A new addition for the San Diego skyline.
“This is a canvas waiting for the art to be put on it,” Gilmer said. “This is going to be a lit venue that people will see when they fly in, it will really be an iconic landmark for the city on the front porch of San Diego.”
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