This weekend, the San Diego Symphony welcomes acclaimed violinist Geneva Lewis for a performance of Korngold’s Violin Concerto, October 17 and 18 at Jacobs Music Center. Praised for her “immense power”, “immaculate technique”, and “deeply considered musical insight” (The Scotsman), Lewis joins guest conductor Gemma New for a program that celebrates rich orchestral color and emotional storytelling. Flanked on both sides with works by Mendelssohn performed by the San Diego Symphony, Korngold’s sweeping melodies—born from both the concert hall and the golden age of film—promises to be a highlight. 

Five Questions with Geneva Lewis

1. Hello Geneva and welcome back to the San Diego Symphony! Last time you were here you played at our scenic bayside venue, The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park™. Now this weekend you will be playing at the newly renovated Jacobs Music Center. How does it feel to be back? Tell us a little about your debut with the San Diego Symphony last year.

I’m so excited to be back with the Symphony! This will be my first time seeing and experiencing the renovated hall in person, and I’m really looking forward to it. I had such a wonderful time playing with the musicians - they are such a warm, sensitive group. We performed Beethoven’s violin concerto, and I found it so inspiring to perform in such a gorgeous venue. I’m so happy to be back in San Diego - I grew up in Orange County, so returning to Southern California is always very special for me.

2. Please tell us a little bit about your musical background and how you came to your instrument.

Music was all around me since I was young, from hearing recordings around the house and attending concerts. My parents are strong believers that music/art is an integral aspect of a child’s education, and so my siblings and I started playing and learning about music quite early. I mostly chose violin because I wanted to copy my older brother!

3. You will be playing the Korngold Violin Concerto in D. What, if any, special preparations have you made for this performance of this piece?

The experience of preparing Korngold has been very interesting for me - it’s a new piece for me this season, and one that I was quite unfamiliar with previously, even as a listener. It’s a special joy to get to discover a piece, especially a relatively standard one, from a place without preconceived notions and ideas. It’s an intricate piece, and it’s been particularly gratifying to dive into the score and see how things fit together. I’m really looking forward to the process of creating an interpretation with Gemma and the Symphony, and seeing how we can bring the music to life.

4. What would you like the San Diego audience to take away from your performance? What would you like to take away from this performance with the San Diego Symphony?

I hope that people can have an experience that is meaningful or engaging to them in some way, and enjoy discovering or rediscovering the music on the program. Live performance is so special and unique, and I really love the communal sense of everyone being focused in on the same thing at once, whether our experiences and feelings are similar or not. That energy in the room is something I’m really looking forward to.

5. When not performing, what are one or two places where we’d find you and what would we find you doing?

I tend to spend a lot of time on the road, and I always love to share my adventures with my favorite travel buddy, Junie! You can find us exploring new places together, or possibly spending quality time on the couch at home in New York.

Geneva in Paris

 

See Geneva Lewis perform this weekend at Jacobs Music Center. For tickets click here.