San Diego Symphony plays Hans Zimmer’s score live to Gore Verbinski’s The Ring on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026 at 6 p.m. Jacobs Music Center. KPBS lists tickets $53–$111.
This is not Wagner. The Ring in Concert at Jacobs Music Center is Gore Verbinski’s 2002 movie — Naomi Watts, a cursed VHS tape, seven days — with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra playing Hans Zimmer’s score live while the film runs on a screen. One night: Sunday, November 1, 2026, 6:00 p.m.
Susie Benchasil Seiter conducts. The Symphony bills it as a Jacobs Music Center Special Presentation, not a Masterworks subscription concert. If you showed up expecting Das Rheingold, you will be watching a well that’s wet for other reasons.
Overview
Zimmer’s original score is the whole point of buying a hall seat instead of streaming the movie. The liner notes talk about a minimalist, unsettled approach — less “jump-scare brass,” more the feeling that the tape is still in the machine. You get the picture and the orchestra in the same room.
The film is PG-13. KPBS lists the date as all ages; Jacobs Music Center’s default for non-family Symphony concerts is children 2 and older, ticketed, in their own seat. Treat it as a horror-night special, not a Symphony Kids show. Latecomers are seated at a pause the house manager chooses — on a film-with-orchestra night, that can mean missing a stretch.
What You Need to Know
- Event: The Ring in Concert (JMC Special Presentation)
- When: Sunday, November 1, 2026, 6:00 p.m.
- Where: Jacobs Music Center — 1245 Seventh Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101 (Seventh & B, downtown)
- Who: San Diego Symphony Orchestra; Susie Benchasil Seiter, conductor
- Tickets: KPBS lists $53–$111. Buy through the Symphony, not a resale tab.
- Box office: (619) 235-0804 · tickets@sandiegosymphony.org
- Concert-day ticket office: Saturday and Sunday closed except performance days, when hours are 12 p.m. through intermission (Monday–Friday: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. on non-concert days)
- Photos/recording during the film: not allowed
- Venue: cash-free; food stays in the lobby; lidded drinks bought on-site can go into the hall (not the Choral Terrace)
Special Presentations typically run about 1.5 to 2.5 hours. The Symphony does not post a hard end time on this listing.
Getting There
The hall is at Seventh and B in the Core. Wheelchair access is easiest from B Street (the 7th Avenue sidewalk is steep). Mezzanine and balcony are stairs-only; an usher-operated elevator runs between the lower (B Street) and upper (7th Avenue) lobbies.
Symphony-listed garages within a few blocks:
- 750 B St / Symphony Towers
- 701 B St / Bank of America
- 600 B St / WeWork
- 401 B St / Wells Fargo Plaza
- 1350 6th Ave / 6th and A
Parking can be prepaid before the concert. Sunday metered street parking is free all day downtown. Trolley: MTS Fifth Avenue stop on C Street (Blue and Orange lines) is a few blocks west.
ProPark valet on B Street is posted for Friday/Saturday Masterworks evenings; Sunday valet, when offered, is in front of Marriott Vacation Club Pulse on A Street — confirm closer to the date for a Sunday 6 p.m. special.
Good to Know
This is a one-night film concert, not a festival and not The Ring Cycle. If you want Zimmer in a real hall with the picture locked to the downbeat, this is the November 1 date.
Tickets: https://www.sandiegosymphony.org/performances/the-ring-in-concert/
KPBS listing: https://www.kpbs.org/events/2026/11/01/the-ring-in-concert
Visit FAQ: https://www.sandiegosymphony.org/plan-your-visit/jacobs-music-center-faq/
More of what’s on: https://www.hellosandiego.com/events
