Orchestra Nova San Diego

Like a fine wine, the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, now called The Orchestra Nova San Diego, gets better with age. After 25 years, Orchestra Nova San Diego delivers world-class performances, electrifying audiences young and old, knowledgeable and newcomer alike. Since chamber orchestras have fewer musicians than symphony orchestras, the live experience is more intimate and in a sense, more personal.

Orchestra Nova's season extends from fall through spring and includes five Classics Series, its annual holiday tradition of performing Handel's Messiah in December, and pops concerts. The group performs in three unique venues: St. Paul's Cathedral by downtown San Diego and near Balboa Park; Sherwood Auditorium at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla; and at the Irwin M. Jacobs Qualcomm Hall. This wide choice of venues means you are never very far from a performance.

Innovative programming is the defining quality of Orchestra Nova's Classics Series. One program is performed three times a month (once at each venue), with a new program debuting every month. A general theme unifies each season through the Classics Series' unique programs. Orchestra Nova's general theme for this season is "celebration," and the programs of this season's Concert Series all celebrate different things.

In addition to concerts, educational outreach is another area of focus for Orchestra Nova. To this end, it offers classroom workshops and other efforts. Fueled by the musicians' desire to give the gift of music to every child, these groundbreaking programs profoundly influence the students' appreciation for and knowledge of music. This vision is at the heart of Orchestra Nova's mission and has inspired programs like the $10 Student Ticket, a program in which a number of tickets are sold to students with valid ID for – you guessed it – ten dollars. Providing affordable opportunities to experience live classical music helps engender a lifelong love of music and expands the genre's accessibility.

- Iris Jahng