SDS and Payare Announce Spring 2027 European Tour
Aug 27, 2026The San Diego Symphony announces a major milestone in its history: the Orchestra’s first-ever European tour, taking place over nine days in spring 2027. Under the direction of Music and Artistic Director Rafael Payare, the Symphony will perform five concerts in some of Europe’s most prestigious venues, introducing international audiences to the “San Diego Sound.”
This tour represents a significant moment of artistic arrival for the Symphony, reflecting years of growth, investment, and deep community connection. Since Payare’s appointment in 2019, the organization has expanded its national and international profile, bolstered by the transformation of the Jacobs Music Center and the opening of The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, which have helped redefine the region’s cultural landscape. The Orchestra’s artistic reputation has also been strengthened by international acclaim for Payare’s artistry and his palpable connection with orchestras and audiences, both in the concert hall and on recordings. The Orchestra’s recent Delos label recording of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7, Leningrad—the first recording made in the newly renovated Jacobs Music Center—has further elevated its international profile, earning enthusiastic reviews for both the performance and the recording.
The tour opens April 28, 2027, at Barcelona’s Palau de la Música Catalana, featuring Spanish pianist Javier Perianes performing Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A Minor. This program also includes Kauyumari by Grammy-winning composer Gabriela Ortiz, Symphonic Dances from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein, and the Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin Suite by Béla Bartók.
The Symphony then continues to Toulouse, Hamburg, Paris, and Dublin where they will be joined by violinist Leonidas Kavakos performing Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Additional repertoire heard in these cities includes The Firebird Suite (1919) by Igor Stravinsky, highlighting the orchestra’s programmatic versatility.
“In Europe, a visiting orchestra’s performance represents more than a concert—it is a cultural exchange,” says Payare. “The San Diego Symphony has a voice with such brilliance and spirit, it should be heard in concert halls around the world.”
The 2027 European tour represents both an introduction and an offering: a chance to share the artistic energy, diversity, and cultural vitality of the San Diego region with audiences abroad. It also reflects a full-circle moment for the Symphony, which has long brought the world’s music to San Diego and now joins the global stage in return. This tour marks the beginning of a broader international presence for the San Diego Symphony in the years ahead.
