The San Antonio Philharmonic is about to play its inaugural concerts in its new auditorium, the Scottish Rite Cathedral. In October 2024, the orchestra entered into a partnership with the Scottish Rite building in downtown San Antonio, which will now become the orchestra’s home venue for concerts.
The Philharmonic’s first concerts at the Scottish Rite take place this Friday and Saturday. American pianist Natasha Paremski will join the musicians. Music Director Jeffrey Kahane will conduct the program, which holds works by Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich and Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate.
The building will have to undergo some renovation. “We want people to see this building for what it is and imagine all the great things to come as we continue to work with architects and engineers and and acousticians and so forth,” said Roberto Treviño, the Philharmonic’s executive director. “We plan on making upgrades as needed and as we can. But part of that is also building up that community awareness of what this space really is and why it’s so special.” Currently, the hall, which is praised for its good acoustics, offers 2,400 seats.
The Philharmonic, which sprang from the ashes of the San Antonio Symphony when it was closed down in 2022, had been performing primarily at the much smaller First Baptist Church of San Antonio.
