Concerts for Kids
Concerts for Kids is a special weekday concert program for school groups, presented at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. Concerts for Kids serves more than thirty-five thousand schoolchildren throughout Northern California each year.
The San Francisco Symphony’s oldest education program, Concerts for Kids, continues the tradition of young people’s concerts begun here in 1919. The program provides an opportunity for schoolchildren to experience a live orchestral concert, performed by the San Francisco Symphony in a building designed specifically for orchestral music: Davies Symphony Hall. Concerts for Kids are created specially for schoolchildren. The performances are designed to be engaging, exciting, and fun, with great music that’s chosen for its appeal to young listeners. The conductor serves as narrator and guide.
Concerts for Kids performances are also created as important learning experiences for students, as an extension of the classroom. Designed to develop students’ understanding and appreciation of symphonic music, each concert presents musical concepts and ideas that align with nationally prescribed educational standards in music, and with music standards in the California State Department of Education’s Visual and Performing Arts Framework.
Program themes also lend themselves to integration with other curriculum areas, such as language arts and social studies. Study Guides and CDs of the music to be performed are mailed to classrooms and home schools in advance of the concert. A free Docent workshop at Davies Symphony Hall for teachers, parents, and school volunteers demonstrates ways to prepare classes for the concert. Education Docents visit classrooms upon request and give free presentations.
Children's and Youth Concert Schedule
Our Children's Concerts are suitable for Kindergarten through grade 3; Youth Concerts are geared for grades 4 through 9. Please select the concert that is appropriate for your class. Order early to guarantee seats!
CHILDREN’S CONCERTS
Making Music!
January 17, 18, 20: 10am and 11:30am; January 23: 11:30am
Children’s Concerts last approximately thirty-five minutes.
Bizet Prelude to Carmen
Happy Birthday sing-along
Beethoven Finale from Symphony No. 5 (excerpt)
Mendelssohn Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Mussorgsky The Oxcart from Pictures at an Exhibition
Offenbach Can-can from Orpheus in the Underworld
Kodaly Viennese Musical Clock from Háry János
Britten Harp Variation from Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
Poulenc Concerto for Organ, Timpani, and Strings (excerpt)
Bernstein Mambo from West Side Story
YOUTH CONCERTS
Sounds of Music!
November 29: 10am; February 21, 22, 24: 10am and 11:30am
Youth Concerts last approximately forty-five minutes.
Wagner Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin
Bernstein Times Square from On the Town
Tchaikovsky Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato from Symphony No. 4
Gounod Scherzo from Petite Symphonie for Winds
Harrison Song of Quetzelcoatl for percussion
Happy Birthday sing-along
R. Strauss Sunrise from Also Sprach Zarathustra
Saint-Saëns Finale from Organ Symphony
Ordering Information
Ticket orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Exchanges or refunds are not available. Please be sure to include chaperones in your school ticket count.
Order Now!
By Phone (415) 864-6000 | By Fax (415) 554-0108
Box Office Hours Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat noon-6pm, and Sun 2 hours prior to concerts. The Box Office is located at Davies Symphony Hall on Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street.
We recommend one chaperone for every 10 children. Please let us know if you need wheelchair seating when ordering tickets. Study guides and a free CD will be sent to all schools ordering tickets to the "Weekday Concerts for School Groups" program.
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Study Guide and CD
The Study Guide is designed for teachers as an instructional resource to prepare students for the Concerts for Kids experience. Study Guides and a free CD will be sent to all schools (including home schools) who order tickets to Concerts for Kids.
The Study Guide contains:
• information on the San Francisco Symphony and Davies Symphony Hall
• drawings of instruments suitable for duplication and distributing to students
• background information on the music and composers being presented
• activities for introductory and follow-up learning experiences in the classroom
• a CD narrated by the conductor, who previews the music being performed, and who gives tips on "How to Listen" attentively to music
The Study Guide and CD are integral elements of the Concerts for Kids experience. As in any curricular area, students’ learning is enhanced when it can be based on prior skills and knowledge, structured sequentially, when learning can happen experientially, and when a web of connections can be made across disciplines. The Study Guide and CD assist in these modes of instruction.
In "How to Listen," Concerts for Kids conductor Donato Cabrera gives some tips on how to listen carefully during a live concert. Live concerts are marvelous experiences! There’s a lot to see, and even more to hear. In fact, the more carefully you listen, the more you’ll hear in the music – and it will be even more exciting!
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Docent Program
The San Francisco Symphony provides a free Docent Training Workshop for teachers, parents, and school volunteers who share a common enthusiasm for music. The Workshop will demonstrate how to prepare students for the “Concerts for Kids” program. It is designed for those who volunteer to visit classrooms in advance of the concerts and for teachers who wish to make presentations at their own school.
The Workshop consists of:
• a meeting with the conductor, who will provide insight into the program
• a teacher’s guide designed to be used in the classroom
• teaching methods and presentation techniques
• a question-and-answer session
The Workshop will be held in the Zellerbach Rehearsal Wing of Davies Symphony Hall. Since this season offers two series of concert dates – November 29, February 21, 22, and 24 for Youth Concerts; and January 17, 18, 20, and 23 for for Children’s Concerts – we will offer a Workshop for each concert program.
Docent Visit Request
The San Francisco Symphony provides a Docent Program for “Concerts for Kids.” If your class will be attending a “Concerts for Kids” performance, and if you would like an Education Docent to make a free presentation in your classroom, please email Giselle Bosc, Education Docent Chair.
A few weeks prior to your concert date, an Education Docent will make an appointment with the teacher or contact person. We find that students who benefit most from the concert experience are those who are given a presentation and have discussed and listened to the music prior to the concert. For more information on the docent program email Concerts for Kids.
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