Three years ago, the San Diego Symphony received a $120 million gift from a local couple, and instantly, the ensemble was vaulted from the lower ranks of full-time American orchestras to… well, where the vault ends is still unknown. The SDS is fiscally secure for the future, to be sure, and salaries have risen, as have budgets. But can money – even that unbelievable amount of money – really catapult an orchestra into the upper ranks? San Diego’s CEO thinks so, and is even speculating about a future in which the SDS is mentioned alongside America’s fabled Big Five orchestras.