From concerts to art galas to author talks, these are the February San Diego events you don't want to miss.
Dr. Cornel West will appear at Writer’s Symposium by the Sea Feb. 25 PHOTO COURTESY OF WRITER’S SYMPOSIUM BY THE SEA
2/3-6
Four Seasons by Vivaldi and Piazzolla
Guest conductor Christopher Dragon leads the San Diego Symphony and violinist Elena Urioste in a special pairing of Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with Astor Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. Italian composer Vivaldi’s four famous violin concertos depict early 18th century Italian life through the changing seasons. Over two centuries later, Argentine composer Piazzolla wrote his own tango version as a tribute to Buenos Aires. Four performances will take place at La Jolla’s The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, The Village Church in Rancho Santa Fe and Southwestern College Performing Arts Center in Chula Vista. Multiple locations, sandiegosymphony.org
2/12
City Ballet of San Diego’s Love en L’Air Gala
The board of directors invites arts patrons to a romantic evening at The Del’s Crown Room to benefit City Ballet’s theater performances and performing arts education programs. The 29th anniversary fundraising gala includes a reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, a three-course gourmet dinner, a performance by City Ballet dancers, a silent auction and after-dinner dancing to The Mighty Untouchables. Established in 1993, City Ballet offers a full season of concerts at Spreckels Theatre, plus community and education programs that reach over 10,000 school children annually. 6PM, Hotel del Coronado, cityballet.org
Dr. Dean Nelson, founder of Writer’s Symposium by the Sea, with British author Pico Iyer. PHOTO COURTESY OF WRITER’S SYMPOSIUM BY THE SEA
2/12-20
Cosi Fan Tutte: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Continuing its long partnership, the San Diego Symphony teams with San Diego Opera for four performances of Mozart’s comic opera. Conducted by San Diego Opera’s chorus master and music administrator Bruce Stasyna, the production features the debuts of South Korean baritone Gihoon Kim and Grammy Award winner Reginald Smith Jr. In Mozart’s playful, two-act Cosi Fan Tutte (“all women do it”), two soldiers make a bet to test their fiances’ fidelity with a bachelor who believes all women have wandering eyes. Civic Theatre, Downtown San Diego, sandiegotheatres.org
2/18
Justin Bieber
Launched around the Canadian sensation’s fifth and sixth studio albums, Changes (2020) and Justice (2021), Bieber’s Justice world tour had originally been planned for 2020. Now, the rescheduled world tour, which runs through 2023, will kick off with this event in San Diego—featuring special guests Jaden, Eddie Benjamin and ¿Téo?. 7PM, Pechanga Arena, Midway, pechangaarenasd.com
Comedian Taylor Tomlinson will have audiences in stitches at Balboa Theatre Feb. 26 PHOTO: BY TODD ROSENBURG
2/22-25
Writer’s Symposium by the Sea
Point Loma Nazarene University’s 27th annual literary event features inspiring interviews with published writers, conducted by symposium founder Dr. Dean Nelson, as well as a Driftwood Short Film Festival student filmmaker event and afternoon author workshops. This year’s writers include Nadia Bolz-Weber, author of three New York Times bestselling memoirs; New York Times op-ed columnist and commentator David Brooks; and Dr. Cornel West, chair at Manhattan’s Union Theological Seminary, who’s authored 20 books. Point Loma Nazarene University’s Main Campus, pointloma.edu
2/25
2022 San Diego Go Red for Women Experience
Join the fight to prevent heart disease and stroke by supporting the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement, which has been educating millions of women on the risk of cardiovascular disease since 2004. The San Diego event begins at 10AM with registration, a silent auction and a health expo. Then, over a noon lunch, the empowering program will feature speakers like local survivor, author and ImpactFull founder Kristine Michie, who will share her inspiring experience. 10AM, The US Grant, Downtown San Diego, sdgored.heart.org
The Seabird Resort will host Oceanside Museum of Art’s 25th Anniversary Gala Feb. 26. PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE SEABIRD RESORT
2/25-3/13
Love Song at Scripps Ranch Theatre
Director Claire Simba’s production of playwright John Kolvenbach’s quirky rom-com examines love in all forms. Beane is a hermit, whose sister Joan and brother-in-law Harry can’t seem to help him. After Beane’s apartment is burglarized by Molly, he falls in love, transforming from an emotionless introvert to someone contagiously joyful. But Joan is intent to uncover the true story behind his enigmatic new romance. Scripps Ranch Theatre, scrippsranchtheatre.org
2/26
Payare Leads Tchaikovsky
A hero struggles to accept his preordained fate in Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s “Fourth Symphony,” a dramatic journey filled with terror, torment and melancholy, with a vigorous and triumphant finale. Conductor Rafael Payare leads the San Diego Symphony in this lively concert event, which begins with an opener by California-based composer Andrew Norman and features trumpeter Pacho Flores in the U.S. premiere of Cuban-born composer Paquito D’Rivera’s jazzy concerto honoring Venezuela. 8PM, Civic Theatre, Downtown San Diego, sandiegosymphony.org
Listen to the sweet sounds of violinist Elena Urioste during Four Seasons By Vivaldi and Piazzolla PHOTO: BY ALESSANDRA TINOZZI
2/26
Oceanside Museum of Art’s 25th Anniversary Gala
OMA, which hosted its first exhibit in the Irving J. Gill building in 1997, is turning 25. To mark the milestone, the Oceanside museum is kicking off a year of festivities with a glitzy gala benefiting its education, community and arts initiatives. After a sunset cocktail hour, guests will enjoy dinner prepared by chefs from The Seabird Resort and Mission Pacific Hotel. The evening will also feature auctions, live entertainment, immersive art—including festive light projections by Joe Wheaton—and a preview of the 2022 exhibitions. 5PM, The Seabird Resort, Oceanside, oma-online.org
2/26
Taylor Tomlinson
One of the country’s youngest touring headliners, the 28-year-old O.C.- born and Temecula-raised stand-up comedian will perform two sets for this San Diego event, at 7 and 9:30PM. Tomlinson—who grew up in a devout Christian family, which she incorporates into her routines—began performing at 16, and quickly found an audience due to her wit and self-deprecation. The co-host of Self-Helpless Podcast, she wrote and stars in the 2020 Netflix special Taylor Tomlinson: Quarter-Life Crisis. Balboa Theatre, Downtown San Diego, sandiegotheatres.org
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