SAN DIEGO — Mainly Mozart has named acclaimed New York pianist and veteran music festival curator Anne-Marie McDermott as artistic director of its Spotlight Chamber Music Series. Concurrently, McDermott and the 37-year-old San Diego nonprofit on Thursday announced their 2027 Spotlight series schedule.

To be held Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between late January and early May, the series will feature a dozen concerts at various area venues, including concert halls and private homes. The upcoming series will see the resumption of Spotlight performances at The Scripps Research Auditorium in La Jolla for the first time since the 2020 pandemic shutdown.

McDermott this summer concluded a 16-year run in Colorado as Bravo! Vail MusicFestival’s Artistic Director. She is ideally suited to guide and shape Mainly Mozart’s Spotlight series, which she curated from 2011 until 2020. The series was curated from 2022 until this year by Mainly Mozart CEO and co-founder Nancy Laturno.

“I first performed at Mainly Mozart in 1996 and I met my husband through Mainly Mozart, so I was absolutely thrilled when Nancy asked me to come back,” McDermott said, speaking from the Manhattan home she shares with her husband, Mike Lubin, and their Maltese dog, Lola. “This is a perfect for for me. It’s like a homecoming.”

“We are delighted to welcome Anne-Marie McDermott back,” Laturno said in a statement released Thursday. “This new leadership role will highlight her extraordinary talents as both a performer and a programmer, and the 2027 series lineup she has curated will deliver truly unforgettable musical experiences for our audiences.”

McDermott spoke with palpable enthusiasm about the 2027 Spotlight lineup, which will feature such top-rated musicians as cellist Carter Brey, clarinetists Anthony McGill and Osmo Vänskä, violinists Paul Huang and Erin Keefe, and pianists Delvan Lin, Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe.

The repertoire will mix favorites by Mozart, Brahms, Beethoven and Debussy, with arrangements of pieces by the art-rock band Radiohead, legendary troubadour Leonard Cohen and more.

“Music creates joy, which is really important to have in this world we live in, and I have lots of different ideas beyond the Spotlight series that Nancy and I are already talking about,” McDermott said.

“It’s fun for me to call musician friends and invite them to play here. Who doesn’t want to come be part of Mainly Mozart? Who doesn’t want to come spend time in San Diego? It’s very exciting because there is a huge pool of great artists we can bring here.”

Mainly Mozart 2026 Spotlight Chamber Series

Saturday concerts at Scripps Research Auditorium, 10620 John Jay Hopkins Drive, La Jolla.

Jan. 30: Mozart Violin Sonata in C major, K. 296; John Corigliano’s Sonata for Violin and Piano. Paul Huang, violin; Anne Marie McDermott, piano. $65 and $95.

Feb. 20: Osmo Vänskä Duo; Franck Violin Sonata in A major; Sibelius Songs (arr. for clarinet and piano); James Stephenson Factors Trio. Erin Keefe, violin; Osmo Vänskä, clarinet; Delvan Lin, piano. $65 and $95.

April 3: Mozart Papageno! (based on arias from Die Zauberflöte, K. 620), Dvořák Silent Woods, Op. 68, No. 5; Anderson & Roe Eight Variations on Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”; Brahms Selections from Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52b; Anderson & Roe Blue Danube Fantasy (after Johann Strauss, Jr.). Greg Anderson, piano; Elizabeth Joy Roe, piano. $65 and $95.

May 1: Brahms Clarinet Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 120; Beethoven Cello Sonata in A major, Op. 69; Brahms Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114. Anthony McGill, clarinet; Carter Brey, cello; Anne-Marie McDermott, piano. $65 and $95.

Sunday concerts at La Valle Coastal Club, 5690 Cancha de Golf, Rancho Santa Fe.

Jan. 31: Fauré Violin Sonata in A major No. 1, Op. 13; Saint-Saëns Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 75. Paul Huang, violin; Anne Marie McDermott, piano. $125 and $250.

Feb. 21: Milhaud Suite for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano, Op. 157b, Debussy Violin Sonata in G minor, Libby Larsen A Tarantella for Our Times; Debussy Première Rhapsodie for Clarinet and Piano; Michael Stephen Brown Relationship; Schubert The Shepherd on the Rock, D. 965. Erin Keefe, violin; Osmo Vänskä, clarinet; Delvan Lin, piano. $125 and $250.

April 4: Mozart Grande Scherzo (based on the Finale to Act 1 from Così fan tutte), K. 588; Gluck/Anderson & Roe Ballet from Orpheus and Eurydice; Stravinsky Part 1: “The Adoration of the Earth” from The Rite of Spring; Radiohead/Anderson & Roe “Pyramid Song”; Bernstein/Anderson & Roe “Somewhere” and “America” from “West Side Story.” Greg Anderson, piano, Elizabeth Joy Roe, piano. $125 and $250.

May 2: Beethoven 7 Variations on Bei Männern welche Liebe fühlen, WoO 46; Mozart Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman Variations for Piano, K. 265; Poulenc Clarinet Sonata; Beethoven Trio in B-flat major for clarinet, cello, and piano, Op. 11. Anthony McGill, clarinet; Carter Brey, cello; Anne-Marie McDermott, piano. $125 and $250.

Tickets: Tickets are now on sale at mainlymozart.org/purchase. Friday night concerts will be held in private homes and will feature the same repertoire and performers as the Sunday concerts.

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