Spring is coming to San Diego and so are many promising concerts. In addition to the group of dynamic events below, we can anticipate La Jolla Music Society’s three-week-long SummerFest, starting in July. Here are some of the top sonic delights coming up this spring and summer.
Camarada: Luscious
Camarada celebrates its 30th anniversary season by performing some of its favorite composers, including Gilad Cohen, George Gershwin and Claude Debussy. Camarada cofounders Beth Ross Buckley (flute) and Dana Burnett (piano) will be ed by David Buckley (violin), Travis Maril (viola) and Elena Mashkovtseva (harp). 7:30 p.m. March 27. Mingei International Museum, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. $35-$75. 619-231-3702, camarada.org
Art of Elan: Identities, featuring Fiona Digney
Percussionist Fiona Digney made a big impression when she performed as a UC San Diego grad student. Now a busy with Art of Elan and other SoCal music groups, Digney’s local appearances are all too rare. At the San Diego premiere of Steve Reich’s “Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ,” Digney will perform all parts – with an assist by sound engineer Peter Otto. 7 p.m. April 11. ICA San Diego / North, 1578 South El Camino Real, Encinitas. $12.51-$28.52. 619-678-1709, artofelan.org
Hausmann Quartet’s Haydn Voyages: Obsession
The concert’s title is inspired by John Adams’ obsession with Beethoven. The Hausmann Quartet perform works by both composers plus Haydn’s Quartet No. 61. The latter was the first Haydn Quartet the Hausmanns played together 20 years ago. This is the quartet’s 10th season aboard the 1898 steam ferryboat Berkeley. 2:30 p.m. April 27. Maritime Museum of San Diego, 1492 N. Harbor Drive, San Diego. $35-$60. 619-432-2314, hausmannquartet.com
San Diego Early Music Society: Jordi Savall & Hespèrion XXI
One of the most influential proponents of early music, Spanish-born Jordi Savall is a renowned researcher, teacher and viola da gamba player. He also leads several historically informed music groups, including Hespèrion XXI, which will accompany him for this concert. 7:30 p.m. April 15. St James by-the-Sea, 743 Prospect St., La Jolla. $30-$60. 619-291-8246, sdems.org
La Jolla Music Society: Mutter Bronfman Ferrández Trio
Virtuoso violinist and four-time Grammy Award-winner Anne-Sophie Mutter – in her first La Jolla Music Society performance since 1996 — will appear as part of a special trio. ing Mutter will be her protégé, Spanish cellist Pablo Ferrández, and acclaimed pianist Yefim Bronfman. 7:30 p.m. May 3. Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave., downtown. $49-$104.50. 858-459-3728, theconrad.org
Bach Collegium San Diego: Knockout Sounds with Reginald Mobley – ‘The Return of Bach to Bop.’
Noted countertenor Reginald Mobley is working to “un-whitewash” the classical music canon. His concert – led by Bach Collegium’s artistic director Ruben Valenzuela – will explore baroque compositions and songs made famous by Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. 7 p.m. May 3, Baker-Baum Concert Hall, The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla; and at 4 p.m. May 4. All Souls’ Episcopal Church, 1475 Catalina Blvd., Point Loma. $15-$70. 619-341-1726, bachcollegiumsd.org
Le Salon de Musiques: Concert 8
Founder and pianist Francois Chouchan will grace the stage for Le Salon’s penultimate concert of the season, alongside cellist Sarah Kim and violinist Ray Ushikubo, both Los Angeles-based. The featured works are by Beethoven and Brahms and Ferdinand Hiller’s Piano Trio No.6 In C Minor, a U.S. premiere. Hiller was a German pianist, composer and friend of Chopin, Liszt and Berlioz. 4 p.m. May 4. The La Jolla Woman’s Club, 7791 Draper Ave., La Jolla. $69-$120. 310-498-0257, lesalondemusiques.com
San Diego Symphony: Rafael Payare and Alisa Weilerstein
In April, cellist Alisa Weilerstein will present Fragments 3, part of her inventive series playing Bach Cello Suites. In May, her husband, San Diego Symphony Music Director Rafael Payare will conduct the orchestra in Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 and Unsuk Chin’s Cello Concerto, featuring Weilerstein. Weilerstein’s Fragments 3: 7:30 p.m. April 8, $39-$93; Bruckner’s Symphony: 7:30 p.m. May 10; 2 p.m. May 11. $39-$120. Jacobs Music Center, 750 B St., downtown. 619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.org
Mainly Mozart: All-Star Orchestra Festival
The annual fete featuring concertmasters and principal players from all over the country will present six concerts at two locations in La Jolla. Special guests include acclaimed pianist Joyce Yang and violinist/composer Noah Bendix-Balgley, but the spotlight will also be on individual concertmasters. 7 p.m. June 18, 20, 24, 26 at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall, Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla; 7 p.m. June 21, 28 at the Epstein Family Amphitheater at UC San Diego, 9480 Innovation Lane, La Jolla. 619-239-0100, mainlymozart.org/allstar
San Diego Symphony: The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park 2025 Summer Season Opening
The Shell, a beautiful bayside amphitheater, welcomes summer with Alberto Ginastera’s Four Dances from Estancia and Wynton Marsalis’ Trumpet Concerto. The concert features conductor Payare and Paul Merkelo, principal trumpeter for Montreal Symphony Orchestra, which Payare also leads. 7:30 p.m. June 27. The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, 222 Marina Park Way, downtown. $37-$123. 619-235-0804, theshell.org (Single ticket sales for most Rady Shell concerts will begin April 25)
