How I re-discovered the San Diego performing arts scene & you should too

I’ve been with Fine Magazine for just over a year now. When I started here, I mentioned that although we had a San Diego Arts & Society column, there was no real coverage of the Arts. "Put it together," the publishers said. I started calling around the county asking some of our Performing Arts companies what they would like to see from us here at Fine Magazine. I received the most feedback from Steven Baker at the San Diego Symphony and Dave Henson at the Old Globe Theatre; without them, this page would never have happened. 

This column started out as simple event notices of some of the larger productions playing around town or the shows I’d like to see and was titled simply, "Performing Arts." Over the next several months, we were able to secure interviews with some of the leading artistic talents San Diego has to offer and now we have those interviews scheduled months in advance.

As this section grew, the event notices moved from that page to our expanded San Diego events calendar. Through all this, we started receiving emails and letters from some of you thanking us for bring this new section to you and for making you aware of some of the shows around town. Because of those letters and emails, we started giving away free tickets to performing arts shows in our weekly 'Ticket Tuesday' contest. I’d like to personally thank those of you that wrote us for your kind and encouraging words.

When we moved the event notices to our expanded calendar section it opened the door for this column to morph into an op–ed page. The range of topics to choose from in any given month has become the challenge that I struggle with right up to deadline.

What this column has personally given me is not just the pleasure I get from being so lucky to write it, but being invited to see more performances across the county than I had in the last five years. Last October, when we had the "How Many Can You See" Challenge, I made it to 11 shows that month alone!

In the last year, I have discovered I love opera, ballet and the symphony just as much as I love the theatre. I have been able to tell you about the world–class artists that have performed here, about the shows our performing arts companies grow and send out, the education opportunities for your children and the charitable giving our non–profit art groups offer our communities.

Thank you all for the most wonderful year. We look forward to continuing to find the very best San Diego has to offer to share with you. We are always looking for new venues to cover, so if you have any suggestions, please feel free to drop us a note. And don’t forget to give us a like and follow on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest this page—and our many others—have to offer.