Restoration complete at Jacobs Music Center (San Diego Symphony)
Music, Symphony, Downtown

Gen Z Writers Help Introduce Jacobs Music Center

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

The luxurious concert venue located at downtown’s Symphony Towers, and formerly known as Copley Symphony Hall, has re-emerged after a $125 million redo that took nearly three years to complete. It is now called Jacobs Music Center, named after philanthropists Joan and Irwin Jacobs, who kicked in a large chunk of the renovation costs.

Home to the San Diego Symphony, the music center’s recent unveiling is described in a Facebook reel that speaks the language of Gen Zers. It’s a playful attempt to catch the ears of younger audiences.

The video is narrated by the symphony’s longtime director of marketing, JD Smith, who leads a videographer through the venue’s original features and stunning remodel while using script written by Gen Z writers. For example, Smith points to the hall’s ornate chandelier, which in Gen Z speak is described fondly as “straight bussin.” When showing off the new seats throughout the place, he suggests: “Sit your gyat/gyatt right here.” And while highlighting the theater’s added box seats, he states, “They are the perfect date-night spot for you and your boo thing.”

Other insightful rhetoric is used throughout the video, in addition to moments when Smith calls out various hashtags but keeps getting humorously shot down by the young video director, who tells him, “not necessary.”

The symphony’s 2024-2025 season is now in full swing with a performance schedule that includes collaborative presentations of traditional Christmas songs in Noel Noel, (playing through Dec. 15), followed by other holiday-related shows and special concerts.