Mission
The mission of the Del Mar Foundation is to promote civic pride and cohesiveness, acquire and preserve open space, improve beaches and parklands, raise and grant funds, and sponsor diverse cultural programs and community events in Del Mar.
Del Mar Foundation
Founded in 1982, the Del Mar Foundation is Del Mar’s community foundation and its oldest 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We sponsor a wide range of programs and events, make community grants, and manage over $13 million in endowment and reserve funds to support the Del Mar community’s long-term needs, as well as those of other Del Mar non-profits and the San Dieguito Lagoon.
Programs and community events the Foundation sponsors include the Summer Twilight Concerts, First Thursdays subscription series, Bluegrass and Beyond concerts, DMF Talks, as well as the July 4th Parade, Easter Egg Hunt, Community Picnic, and Halloween Dog Parade.
As we work to inform and inspire the Del Mar community, we welcome your participation and support.
Upcoming Events
2026 Schedule
June 23
Coral Del Mar Opening Act: Wish
Main Act: The Mighty Untouchables
July 14
Coral Del Mar Opening Act: Fat Paw
Main Act: Back to the Garden
July 28
Coral Del Mar Opening Act: Anthony Cullins Band
Main Act: Steely Damned 2
August 11
Coral Del Mar Opening Act: Salty Papa
Main Act: The Walrus, A New Orleans Beatles Experience
Opening Acts start at 6pm. Headliners take the stage 7pm.
THANK YOU to the 2026 sponsors whose generosity helps make these concerts possible.
Click on a logo to visit that sponsor’s website
Please join the Del Mar International Composers Symposium (DMICS) for an exciting season of concerts featuring inspiring music by some of the most exciting composers working today, performed by acclaimed ensembles such as Hub New Music and the vocal sextet Lyyra. Don’t miss it!
DMICS is excited to present its 7th season of bringing world-class modern classical music to Del Mar. This year’s festival brings both returning favorites and new talent to our community. The season kicks off Saturday, August 1st at 7pm with a performance by Quartet i/0, a brilliant new string quartet comprised of performers who all studied locally at UCSD and SDSU. Quartet i/0 is already winning applause for their programming that connects classics from the past with modern works that inspire and delight. Their performance at DMICS will feature Dmitri Shostakovich’s Seventh String Quartet, plus music by inti figgis-vizueta, Euna Joh, Georgia Phipps, and Fredrik Sjölin.
On Tuesday, August 4th, Hub New Music returns to Del Mar for the first time since 2023. For this program, the innovative ensemble of flute, clarinet, violin, and cello collaborates with acclaimed French-American composer Daniel Wohl, presenting Wohl’s major new work, Mirage, which responds to the work of UFO-researcher J. Allen Hynek and his coined term “high strangeness,” describing deeply weird paranormal encounters.
Friday, August 7th, will see the Southern California debut of Lyyra, the new all-women vocal ensemble from The VOCES8 Foundation. Creating world-class musical experiences to inspire audiences, Lyyra seeks to redefine the genre of upper voice music in the choral landscape, highlighting the astonishing capabilities within the full spectrum of women’s singing. With an exhilarating range of sound, the group’s talented members specialize in classical, jazz, pop, and folk music from diverse traditions and backgrounds. At DMICS they will perform a wide range of repertoire, from J. S. Bach to Samuel Barber, and from Hildegard von Bingen to Billie Eilish, plus the premiere of a new arrangement of “What Color is the Dawn?” by DMICS founder Jordan Kuspa.
DMICS’ 7th season closes with a first for DMICS: a concert of modern orchestral music! Come hear the North Coast Symphony Orchestra perform gorgeous new works by modern Romantic composers including Ching-Shan Chang, Jose Elizondo, and Polina Nazaykinskaya. Acclaimed soprano (and Del Mar favorite!) Tasha Hokuao Koontz joins the orchestra to sing two works by Jordan Kuspa. The performance will be led by Maestro Chad Goodman, Music Director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, who was named Conductor of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras in 2025.
Performances are held at the Parish Hall of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and begin at 7pm, except for the August 8th performance, which will take place at 2:30pm at San Dieguito United Methodist Church in Encinitas. More details can be found at delmarcomposers.org. To purchase tickets, please visit: eventbrite.com/cc/dmics-season-2026-4854776
DMICS is a sponsored program of the Del Mar Foundation, which has provided a grant to support this fantastic program. DMF’s grant includes matching donations to DMICS up to $16,000. If you are unable to attend any of the programs but would still like to support DMICS work bringing the best new concert music from around the world to Del Mar, please visit: delmarcomposers.org/more/support-dmics/.
DMF in collaboration with DMICS presents
From Migration to Connection:
A Sonic Journey from Neo Classical Music to Whales Songs
Shannon Hayden
Thursday, August 6, 2026
6:00pm – 8:00pm
6:00pm: Wine & Light Refreshments
6:30pm: DMF Talk
TOWN HALL
Del Mar Civic Center
1050 Camino Del Mar
Del Mar, CA 92014
Innovative performer and composer Shannon Hayden has carved a distinctive niche in the music world, touring globally for over a decade with her unique setup: a 19th-century cello coupled with pickups and electronic modifications. Trained by legends like Janos Starker (Indiana University) and Aldo Parisot (Yale University), Hayden’s musicality has been equally shaped by a lifelong passion for experimental, electronically manipulated soundscapes. A “one-woman orchestra” (New York Music Daily) who defies musical convention, Hayden has spent the last decade quietly revolutionizing what’s possible with her instrument while reshaping the intersection of tradition and technology.
In this discussion and live performance, Shannon Hayden shares of a life path forged by creativity, innovation, and activism as she offers aspiring musicians and community audiences alike an honest portrait of what a life in the arts can look like. The evening unfolds as both an intimate conversation and an immersive concert as the audience experience a sonic evolution from Hayden’s neo classical work, to electro-ambient soundscapes, and from the works of others to her own compositions. The journey builds toward an exclusive look into “Concert for the Whales,” an unforgettable musical event on the water created alongside sailor and events producer Alejandra Castañeda. It is a visionary project that proves music is a living force, placing live art in direct dialogue with marine life, scientific research, and our shared environment. As fellow disciples of experience, join us for this unique evening of storytelling and sonic journeys.
2025-2027 Temporary Outdoor Sculpture Program
The Del Mar Foundation is pleased to partner with the City of Del Mar to bring five contemporary sculptures to highly visible locations in Del Mar’s downtown area for public display for 23 months beginning in July 2025.
