Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Mira Mesa Orchestra Musicians Perform in Balboa Park

Approximately 100 string musicians from the Mira Mesa High School orchestra program played in the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park on Tuesday, November 19. The special 30-minute performance under the direction of Matthew Mulvaney, MMHS’s Director of Orchestras, was the featured opener for a concert by Art of Élan, a unique San Diego chamber music ensemble. 

Originally, the Mira Mesa High School musicians were supposed to perform outside, on the steps to the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park. They prepared to play in the dusk and dark by practicing with small lights on their music stands. 

However, with uncooperative inclement weather leading up to the performance, the musicians had to improvise as they were moved inside the museum to perform above the main rotunda. The following concert by Art of Élan was held in the John M. and Sally B. Thornton Rotunda itself. 

The concert, titled “In Spite of All This,” was part of Art of Élan’s newly-launched “BaCH Initiative.” Standing for “Beyond a Concert Hall,” the BaCH initiative is a 3-year project to move Baroque music out into the world of the 21st century, to “bring the timeless music of J.S. Bach to unexpected places.”

Originally published on VAPA's News Page.