San Diego and Tijuana Youth Symphonies Unite for Historic Cross-Border Performance

This weekend, 85 musicians from the Youth Symphony of San Diego and the Sinfónica Juvenil of neighboring Tijuana filled the Epstein Family Amphitheater at the University of California, San Diego, for a historic performance.

“No matter where you come from, music can be something that brings people together,” said Lilian Franqui, one of the barrier-breaking musicians.

When she was 7, Franqui bought a violin at a petting zoo.

Now, more than a decade later, she plans to make a career there.

“When you play, there’s no talk of borders. There’s no talk of ‘them versus us’ that I see a lot, especially in the news,” Franqui said. “I think this music really allows us to be, you know, closer to each other.”

The performance was part of an effort to bring communities together through creativity and innovation during this year’s “World Design Capital.”

“You may not understand each other. Speak the same language, but you know, the same notes, you can play the same,” said Sophia Getman, a member of Sinfónica Juvenil de Tijuana.

But it’s not always right – or easy.

Some artists from Tijuana waited at least three hours to cross the border and get to the rehearsal.

“It has certainly been a learning lesson for many students at the San Diego Youth Symphony because, for many of them, you can easily take for granted driving to a rehearsal, coming to a rehearsal and make music, and maybe it’s a 20-minute car ride or a 30-minute car ride, but for some of the musicians who have joined us, it can be an all-day ordeal “, said Sameer Patel, head orchestra and artistic director. of the San Diego Youth Symphony.

This unique collaboration resulted in a special composition called “Ilimitados”, which means without limits.

“Limitless symbolizes hope and opportunity,” says Anthony Kim, concertmaster of the San Diego Youth Symphony. “As for the border region, I hope this will help bring peace and unity.”

Patel hopes it hits the right notes and resonates well beyond this point.

“Music is the greatest expression of our common humanity, and I think when we have a piece of music like this and opportunities to come together that showcase our common humanity, you know, you can see that there’s little that really separates us,” Patel said.