BEYOND BORDERS

A North American Music Initiative

Beyond Borders is the San Diego Symphony’s initiative connecting its evolving artistic activities across North America. It celebrates the cultural, ecological, and musical migrations that connect communities throughout Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Like the monarch butterfly, which moves across borders and landscapes with strength and resilience, this initiative creates a pathway for professional musicians, youth musicians, cultural institutions and audiences to share music, learning, and artistic identity.

The program is rooted in the leadership of Rafael Payare, who became Music Director of the San Diego Symphony in 2019. Payare grew up in the El Sistema program in Venezuela, began formal conducting studies with José Antonio Abreu, and now serves as Music Director of both the San Diego Symphony Orchestra (SDSO) and Canada’s Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM), two of North America’s leading orchestras. His international artistic life, his personal connection to educational and social music systems, and his belief that music builds bridges across communities shape the core of Monarch: Sin Fronteras.

As the orchestra’s global presence has grown, so has its role on the world stage. The creation, launch and programming of The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, the renovation and reopening of Jacobs Music Center, the success of the Symphony’s 2023 Carnegie Hall performance, its two recordings of Shostakovich’s Symphonies no. 11 and 7, and its five-city 2027 European tour all reflect a new era of artistic excellence. One Continent, One Language extends this international vision to the communities closest to San Diego, creating a cultural ecosystem that spans the border region and reaches across the North America.