San Diego, Tijuana Youth Musicians Unite in Cross-Border Orchestra to Wrap Up WDC 2024

Young musicians from San Diego and Tijuana — 85 in all — were recognized Monday for performing in what is believed to be the first time as a binational orchestra in front of a packed venue.

The event marked the end of the World Design Capital 2024, which this year focused on the San Diego-Tijuana region — the first binational designation in the WDC’s history.

WDC 2024, a month-long conference about the power of shape and design, was organized by the World Design Organization, a non-governmental agency that looks at industrial design as a major shaping and organizing force in individual and collective lives.

This includes the World Design Capital program, which in the WDO’s words, “showcases how cities use design to reinvent themselves and improve their residents’ lives.”

The San Diego Youth Symphony this weekend played “Limitless” with the Sinfonica Juvenil de Tijuana, conducted by Sameer Patel.

“Music is the greatest expression of our common humanity,” Patel told the CBS Evening News on Sunday.

“And I think when we have a piece of music like this and an opportunity to come together that showcases our common humanity, you can see that there’s little that actually separates us.”

Concertmaster Anthony Kim told the network, “‘Limitless’ is symbolic of hope, of opportunities. I hope this helps instigate peace and unity.”

The Tijuana musicians had to wait in line at the border to cross into San Diego for rehearsals, sometimes for up to three hours each day.

The unprecedented collaboration may be the first binational youth orchestra in the United States.

City News Service contributed to this report.