SAN DIEGO — The curtain is ready to rise again for the San Diego Symphony at Jacobs Music Center, the historic concert venue formerly known as Copley Symphony Hall. But it will do so on a somber note, following Tuesday's announcement of the death of Joan Jacobs, who — with her husband, Irwin Jacobs — was the symphony's biggest benefactor.

The 114-year-old orchestra, the oldest in California, will take the stage on Sept. 28 in its newly renamed downtown concert hall, following an extensive, top-to-bottom $125 million renovation that began in earnest in early 2021. Unanticipated construction challenges led to a one-year delay in the originally planned fall 2023 reopening of the 95-year-old venue at 750 B St. in downtown San Diego.

It will now boast significantly improved acoustics, state-of-the-art new audio, visual and lighting systems, new aisles and seats angled to face the stage — plus an array of other key new design elements — while retaining much of the hall's historic essence. Eight rows of seating have been removed from the rear of the orchestra-level audience section, the back wall on the main floor has moved forward and a permanent elevated choral terrace has been built at the rear of the venue's reconfigured stage.

"This is like getting a new instrument, the hall, for the orchestra to play in," said Martha Gilmer, the symphony's CEO.

"It is a completely different instrument," agreed Rafael Payare, the symphony's music director.

"It's the same place — you can recognize the proscenium — but it's different in so many ways. Oh my god, people are going to flip out! We'll be going into the hall to do some fine-tuning before our first concert, but we already have something great."

The venue's rebirth comes just three years after the symphony unveiled its bayside amphitheater, the $85 million Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, which is just a few miles from Jacobs Music Center.

Gilmer announced the hall's reopening and some likely season highlights to the audience at Tuesday night's San Diego Civic Theatre concert by the Payare-led symphony and cello legend Yo-Yo Ma. She also paid tribute to Joan Jacobs' legacy of giving.

Season ticket packages went on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday at sandiegosymphony.org and (619) 235-0804. Prices for each concert could change because of dynamic pricing.

Payare and the orchestra will kick off their 2024-25 Jacobs Masterwork season in their new/old hall with a star-studded Sept. 28 concert. It will feature cello star Alisa Weilerstein, soprano Hera Hyesang-Park, pianist (and La Jolla Summerfest music director) Inon Barnatan, the symphony's concertmaster, Jeff Thayer, and the multidisciplinary visual theater company Animal Cracker Conspiracy. The opening night repertoire will spotlight works by Ravel, Rossini, Rachmaninoff, Paganini and the world premiere of Korean-born San Diego composer Texu Kim's aptly titled "Welcome Home!!"

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