ARTICLE: Flute standout Rose Lombardo rides high on stage and on a surfboard

“Playing music and surfing have a lot of parallels,” said Rose Lombardo.

Few people are more qualified to make such an assertion. Lombardo, the San Diego Symphony’s principal flute since 2012, has been an avid surfer for almost as many years.

“They’re very similar experiences for me, in terms of getting into the flow state, washing everything away immediately and focusing on what’s immediately in the present,” she said.

“Nothing does that to you like playing in a performance or surfing on a wave. They both make you better at adjusting and reacting, in real time, to the human connection on stage and to what’s happening in the ocean.”

At the Rady Shell, the symphony’s outdoor venue alongside San Diego Bay, Lombardo and the orchestra occasionally play with high-profile performers. This summer, that list has included Beck and Shaggy.

“I’m constantly starstruck,” she said. “I took a photo with Beck. I did the whole fangirl thing!”

On Friday and Saturday, Lombardo will perform two landlocked concerts for La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, the annual chamber-music festival. Both will be in the society’s Baker-Baum Concert Hall.

“Playing chamber music is a very particular thing,” said pianist Inon Barnatan, SummerFest’s music director. “Rose is fantastic at both orchestral and chamber music. She’s also a great sport. Rose knows the area, she’s a surfer and she’s a lot of fun to be around — and to play with.”

Lombardo’s first SummerFest was in 2019, the same year Barnatan became the festival’s music director. Except for 2020, she has participated in the acclaimed series ever since.

Barnatan had been a guest soloist with the San Diego Symphony in the past, so Lombardo had experienced his prowess at the piano several times.

“He is one of my heroes,” Lombardo said, speaking from her La Mesa home. “I’ve performed with him a couple times, which was so exciting. He’s such a warm person and great collaborator.

“Inon’s programming continues to be creative and innovative. The artist roster is incredible. Some of my Summerfest experiences are definitely career highlights.”

For example, in her first SummerFest season Lombardo played George Crumb’s Voice of the Whale. The piece, which features electric and amplified instruments, teamed her with lauded pianist Conrad Tao and internationally acclaimed San Diego cellist, Alisa Weilerstein.

Never-ending, joyous pursuit

Lombardo was born in Framingham, Mass., and raised in Norwell, both near Boston. Her first live classical music concert was on a mother-daughter date to hear the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

“I knew I would do anything to be a part of such an incredible sound and experience,” she recalled. “From that moment on, I had to play one of these orchestral instruments. And my ears were really drawn to the beautiful flute solos.”

Crediting her mom for finding top-notch music programs, Lombardo attended New England Conservatory Preparatory School. She studied chamber music there and played in both the NEC youth orchestra and Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra — right up to her going to New York’s Juilliard School.

At Juilliard, she studied under Jeffrey Khaner, principal flute of The Philadelphia Orchestra. For her Professional Studies Certificate at Los Angeles’ Colburn School, Lombardo’s teacher was Jim Walker, a celebrated flutist and educator.

When she was hired as the San Diego Symphony’s principal flute at just 23, Lombardo told the Union-Tribune that her teachers had taught her “how to be a leader in this section and to develop a kind of principal presence in terms of the sound.”

Lombardo’s reaction almost 14 years later?

“Oh, wow,” she exclaimed. “I was 23?! I’m kind of proud of that quote. That is the job. It’s a never-ending pursuit, and a joyful one at that.”

Sharing the joy are the other flutists in her section, Sarah Tuck and Lily Josefsberg. Rafael Payare is the San Diego Symphony’s music director.

“I’m so comfortable with the repertoire and my colleagues now that I feel a bit of freedom, especially with Rafael,” Lombardo said. “He gives you so much space to explore, which I really appreciate.”

It didn’t take much time after Lombardo, a longtime swimmer, arrived in San Diego for the ocean to call.

“A friend took me surfing and I was immediately hooked,” she said. “It changed my life. I had the same feeling as the first time I heard an orchestra play live. Those were two formative experiences.”

Having moved to La Mesa a year ago, Lombardo has adjusted her schedule to accommodate her surfing.

“I was absolutely nervous about moving away from the ocean,” she said. “But I’m surfing more now because I schedule it. Sometimes I’ll get up early before symphony rehearsal to get in 45 minutes or an hour of surfing. Somehow not being close to the beach has made me commit to it more often.

“I have a tight group of friends that live over there. Even if it’s only a short session, it sets me for a good day.”

‘Another pinch-me moment’

When Lombardo started her position as San Diego Symphony’s principal flute, it wasn’t only surfing she discovered. She befriended Kate Hatmaker, a violinist at the symphony and executive/artistic director of Art of Elan.

The adventurous nonprofit presents unique chamber-music concerts in unusual venues and runs Young Artists in Harmony, a program in which Art of Elan musicians mentor aspiring composers.

“I was immediately drawn to Kate, because she’s awesome,” Lombardo said with a laugh. “Getting to play chamber music regularly with Art of Elan throughout the season fills my soul. I’ve also been a part of the Harmony program — it’s so cool to see the growth in the students.”

Along with Lombardo and Hatmaker, the San Diego Symphony musicians appearing in this year’s SummerFest include principal harp Julie Smith-Phillips; principal bass Jeremy Kurtz-Harris; violinist Cherry Yeung; and bassist Sam Hager. Acclaimed cellist Alisa Weilerstein, who is married to music director Payare, appears regularly at both SummerFest and symphony concerts.

Friday’s SummerFest concert at the Baker-Baum will feature works by Shostakovich and Beethoven. Lombardo and Smith Phillips will be featured in Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro.

“I always love working with Julie and this is a wonderful addition to an already exciting program,” Lombardo said. “The Ravel gives the flutist an opportunity to explore a larger array of colors while blending with string instruments. The Conrad is the perfect venue because it has such warm acoustics.”

On Saturday, the closing night, after works by Mendelssohn and Chicago’s Jessie Montgomery, an ensemble will play Brahms Serenade in D Major, reconstructed for Nonet. Lombardo will join eight other players for that finale.

“I haven’t played the nonet before and I’m very excited,” she enthused. “It’s an all-star group. Just another pinch-me moment at SummerFest.”

SummerFest: Profound Reflections

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Musical Prelude with Hesper Quartet at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: $65-$90

SummerFest Finale: Starburst

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Musical Prelude with Larinae Ensemble at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: $93-$143

Where: The Baker-Baum Concert Hall at Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla

Phone: 858-459-3728

Online: theconrad.org