The San Diego Symphony has released a report on the first two months of concerts at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. The numbers are impressive.

In August, there were 15 paid events, which drew a collective audience of more than 48,000. In September, there were 13 paid events, which drew an audience of over 40,000. These numbers do not include other events, such as the Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra concert, that have been held at The Shell. They also don’t include the 25 open rehearsals in August and September.

“Looking back at the first eight weeks of performances at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, I could not be more thrilled,” said San Diego Symphony Chief Executive Officer Martha Gilmer. “The responses from the musicians on the stage and our audiences have been overwhelmingly positive. The fact that over 50% of our audiences are new makes me feel we are fulfilling our promise to be a destination for all. The energy and emotion created at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park and being together again as musicians and audience in a live concert experience is something none of us will ever forget. Most importantly, the sound and acoustics of The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park can match any location in the country; it has fulfilled our every expectation.”

Something else of relevance happened at The Shell in September.

Some of us anxiously await the release of the new iPhone every fall. It’s a big deal to certain sections of the media and entertainment industries. Legions of articles and YouTube videos are produced for months in advance of the announcement, exploring various leaks and rumors about new specs and features. This year, the iPhone 13 was announced from The Rady Shell to an international audience. The Shell comes in at around the 39-minute mark of this video, which has over 18 million views. Classical music audiences are always looking for an opportunity to be relevant. Things don’t get more relevant than the iPhone.

Now we can only hope The San Diego Symphony can get some of the $200 billion in cash Apple has lying around. For the record, Apple could pay the entire San Diego Symphony budget for 8,275 years with the cash it has on hand.

The final concert of the year at The Shell will be held on Sunday, November 14, and will feature Edo de Waart conducting Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.

[Editor's note: this story ran in the October 21 print edition of the Reader. We regret the delay in posting it online.]