Press Room

BOYZ II MEN JOINS SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY FOR TWO HOLIDAY PERFORMANCES, DECEMBER 17 & 18, AS PART OF THE SYMPHONY’S 2024 HOLIDAY SEASON LINEUP

Holidays with the Symphony, December 1–23, features 11 festive programs including A Merry-Achi Christmas, Holidays with Boyz II Men and the SF Symphony, Colors of Christmas, Deck the Hall, Handel’s Messiah, Holiday Brass, Holiday Cirque, Holiday Gaiety, and Peter and the Wolf with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra

Holiday films include Elf and The Muppet Christmas Carol

2024-25 season subscriptions are on sale now at sfsymphony.org; subscribers can begin adding on tickets for the 2024 Holiday lineup today; Single tickets for the 2024 holiday season go on sale Saturday, July 20, at 12:00pm PT at sfsymphony.org/holiday

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY YOUTH ORCHESTRA WELCOMES CONDUCTOR RADU PAPONIU AS NEW WATTIS FOUNDATION MUSIC DIRECTOR, BEGINNING IN 2024–25 SEASON

Paponiu will conduct the SFSYO in four concerts during the 2024–25 season, beginning with the Orchestra’s season-opening performance on November 24

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN AND SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCE THREE NEW SFS MEDIA RECORDINGS ON APPLE MUSIC CLASSICAL

Upcoming digital-only recordings include Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird (available tomorrow, June 21), Sergei Prokofiev’s Music from Romeo and Juliet (available August 2), and Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique (available September 23)

CYNTHIA ERIVO JOINS ESA-PEKKA SALONEN AND THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY IN CONCERT ON SEPTEMBER 14

Tickets go on sale today: Friday, June 14, at 10:00am PT on sfsymphony.org

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY CELEBRATES FIVE LONGTIME ORCHESTRA MUSICIANS RETIRING AT THE CLOSE OF THE 2023–24 SEASON

Retiring musicians include violinist and former Associate Concertmaster Nadya Tichman, Associate Principal Bassoon Steven Dibner, violinist Amy Hiraga, cellist Jill Rachuy Brindel, and cellist and former Associate Principal Cello Peter Wyrick

The retiring musicians have a combined 183 years of service to the San Francisco Symphony

 TYLER TAYLOR ANNOUNCED AS WINNER OF FOURTH ANNUAL EMERGING BLACK COMPOSERS PROJECT
 

As winner of the Michael Morgan Prize, Taylor will receive a $15,000 commission and mentorship, and his piece will premiere with the San Francisco Symphony during the 2025–26 season

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN CONDUCTS THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY IN THE FINAL THREE WEEKS OF THE ORCHESTRA’S 2023–24 SUBSCRIPTION SEASON

June 13-15 Sheku Kanneh-Mason joins Salonen and the Orchestra for Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 on a program including Gubaidulina’s Fairytale Poem and Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini

June 21-23 Salonen conducts Schumann’s Piano Concerto with Yefim Bronfman and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, Romantic

June 28-30 Salonen and the Orchestra are joined by mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor, SF Symphony Chorus, and Pacific Boychoir for Mahler’s Symphony No. 3

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN AND THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY PARTNER WITH CHOREOGRAPHER ALONZO KING AND DIRECTOR PETER SELLARS FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM

Alonzo King LINES Ballet joins the Symphony for Ravel’s complete Mother Goose and Sellars directs Schoenberg’s one-act opera Erwartung, featuring soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams

CONDUCTOR GEMMA NEW REPLACES MARTA GARDOLIŃSKA IN MAY 10–12 SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY PERFORMANCES

New makes her Orchestral Series debut with these concerts, leading the San Francisco Symphony in the originally scheduled program, including Grażyna Bacewicz’s Overture; Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto, featuring Pablo Ferrández in his Orchestral Series Debut; and Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, Scottish

Gardolińska regretfully withdraws from the program due to a family illness

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES SUMMER WITH THE SYMPHONY SEASON WITH CONCERTS AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL AND OUTDOOR PERFORMANCES AT FROST AMPHITHEATER, SHORELINE AMPHITHEATRE, AND SIGMUND STERN GROVE, JULY 4–AUGUST 4, 2024

Conductors Earl Lee and Carlos Miguel Prieto lead classical programs at Davies Symphony Hall with performances by violinist Stella Chen, soprano Caroline Corrales, and guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas

Special San Francisco Symphony guest performances by Ben Folds and John Legend

San Francisco Symphony presents The Trailblazing Music of Joni Mitchell, Carole King, & Carly Simon and Classical Mystery Tour: A Symphonic Tribute to The Beatles

Summer films and film music concerts include Disney: The Sound of Magic, a symphonic celebration of Disney's 100th anniversary; La La Land; and The Movie Music of John Williams

Edwin Outwater conducts the Orchestra and vocalist Jessica Vosk in the Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular at Shoreline Amphitheatre

San Francisco Symphony performs a free concert at Sigmund Stern Grove featuring Jessica Vosk on a program conducted by Edwin Outwater, July 7

San Francisco Symphony performs two concerts at Frost Amphitheater, presented by Stanford Live and the San Francisco Symphony, July 13 & 20

Tickets on sale now via sfsymphony.org/summer

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY YOUTH ORCHESTRA CELEBRATES MUSIC DIRECTOR DANIEL STEWART IN HIS FINAL CONCERT WITH THE ORCHESTRA ON SUNDAY, MAY 19, WITH A PERFORMANCE OF MAHLER’S SYMPHONY NO. 5

Stewart became the SFSYO’s Wattis Foundation Music Director in 2019 and celebrates five seasons with the Orchestra; the May 19 concert also marks the final performance of the SFSYO’s 2023–24 season

One of the San Francisco Symphony’s flagship education programs, the SFSYO provides a pre-professional orchestral experience to more than 100 young musicians from throughout the Bay Area, free of charge

THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES
JOHN LEGEND: A NIGHT OF SONGS AND STORIES WITH THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
JULY 23–24

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 5, at 10:00AM PT on sfsymphony.org

San Francisco Symphony’s full Summer with the Symphony lineup will be announced in May

GUEST CONDUCTORS KARINA CANELLAKIS, GUSTAVO GIMENO, MARTA GARDOLIŃSKA, AND RYAN BANCROFT LEAD THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY IN CONCERTS AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL IN APRIL AND MAY 2024

April 18–20 Canellakis conducts Richard Strauss’ Don Juan and Death and Transfiguration; and Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, featuring Cédric Tiberghien, and La Valse

April 25–27 Gimeno leads the Orchestra in Dmitri Shostakovich’s Funeral March from The Great Citizen; William Walton’s Viola Concerto, featuring SF Symphony Principal Viola Jonathan Vinocour; and Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 3

May 10–12 Gardolińska makes her Orchestral Series Debut conducting Grażyna Bacewicz’s Overture; Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto, featuring Pablo Ferrández in his Orchestral Series Debut; and Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, Scottish

May 16–18 Ryan Bancroft, in his Orchestral Series Debut, conducts the World Premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Alaraph ‘Ritus des Herzschlags’; Henri Vieuxtemps’ Violin Concerto No. 5, featuring Joshua Bell; Kevin Puts’ Earth; and Claude Debussy’s La Mer

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN’S TENURE AS SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY MUSIC DIRECTOR CULMINATES IN JUNE 2025 FOLLOWING THE COMPLETION OF HIS FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT

Following the 2024–25 season, Salonen will maintain an ongoing partnership with the San Francisco Symphony through regular guest conducting appearances and collaborations

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN ANNOUNCED AS 2024 POLAR MUSIC PRIZE LAUREATE

Salonen joins Grammy Award-winning songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, and guitarist Nile Rodgers in the honor

Award ceremony will take place on May 21 in Stockholm

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES TWO SUMMER WITH THE SYMPHONY PROGRAMS: BEN FOLDS WITH THE SF SYMPHONY AND THE TRAILBLAZING MUSIC OF JONI MITCHELL, CAROLE KING & CARLY SIMON

Ben Folds performs with conductor Edwin Outwater and the SF Symphony, July 27

Ted Sperling leads SF Symphony and guest vocalists in music by Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Carly Simon, August 1

Tickets for both programs go on sale Friday, February 23, at 10am PT on sfsymphony.org

San Francisco Symphony’s full Summer with the Symphony lineup will be announced in May

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN, SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY, AND VIOLINIST LISA BATIASHVILI EMBARK ON THREE-CONCERT CALIFORNIA TOUR, MARCH 20–22

Salonen and the Orchestra make tour stops at Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles

Repertoire includes Jean Sibelius’s Finlandia, Symphony No. 1, and Violin Concerto featuring Batiashvili, and John Adams’s Naïve and Sentimental Music

Salonen conducts pre-tour performances of all-Sibelius program at Davies Symphony Hall, March 14–16

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN CONDUCTS THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY IN THREE PROGRAMS AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH

February 23–25 Salonen conducts Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with vocal soloists and Brahms’ Violin Concerto with soloist Julia Fischer

March 1–3 San Francisco Symphony and Cartier present a multisensory performance of Scriabin’s Prometheus, The Poem of Fire, with olfactory curation, devised by Salonen, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Cartier in-house perfumer Mathilde Laurent; program also features Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle with mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung and baritone Gerald Finley

March 14–16 Salonen conducts an all-Sibelius program including Finlandia, Symphony No. 1, and Violin Concerto featuring soloist Lisa Batiashvili

March 20–22 Salonen, SF Symphony, and Batiashvili travel to Costa Mesa, Palm Desert, and Los Angeles for three-concert Southern California Tour

SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN’S CHORUS PRESENTS “ALL WE NEED IS LOVE” WITH THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY, JUNE 18 AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL

Tickets are on sale now at sfsymphony.org

MUSIC DIRECTOR LAUREATE MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS CONDUCTS THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY IN MAHLER’S SYMPHONY NO. 5, JANUARY 25–27

MTT and the Orchestra celebrate 50 years performing Mahler together with these concerts; MTT made his debut with the Orchestra in January 1974, conducting Mahler’s Symphony No. 9, launching an unprecedented partnership

This program marks MTT’s final subscription series with the San Francisco Symphony

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY PRESENTS LUNAR NEW YEAR: YEAR OF THE DRAGON, FEBRUARY 17, 2024, AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL

Mei-Ann Chen leads the Orchestra in a program highlighting works by Asian composers including Che Chang, Chen Ge Xin, Vivian Fung, Huang Ruo, Li Huan-Zhi, and Phoon Yew Tien

Violinist Paul Huang joins Chen and the Orchestra to perform music from Tan Dun’s Violin Concerto: Fire Ritual

Calendar update: SF Symphony cancels March 8 & 9 SoundBox program

GUEST CONDUCTORS DALIA STASEVSKA AND JUKKA-PEKKA SARASTE LEAD THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY IN CONCERTS AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2024

Jan 18–20 Stasevska leads the Orchestra in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, featuring pianist Seong-Jin Cho in his Orchestral Series Debut, and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World

Feb 2–4 Saraste conducts Schubert’s Symphony No. 6 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7

MUSIC DIRECTOR LAUREATE MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS CONDUCTS THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY IN MAHLER’S SYMPHONY NO. 5, JANUARY 25-27

MTT will withdraw from conducting previously announced January 18-20 and February 23-25 programs in order to focus on his health

Dalia Stasevska steps in for MTT January 18–20, conducting Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 with Seong-Jin Cho and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9

Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the February 23-25 program, featuring Brahms’s Violin Concerto with Julia Fischer and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella

CONDUCTOR JUKKA-PEKKA SARASTE REPLACES HERBERT BLOMSTEDT IN SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY PERFORMANCES OF BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY NO. 7 AND SCHUBERT SYMPHONY NO. 6 AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL, FEBRUARY 2–4

Maestro Blomstedt is currently being treated in hospital after a fall and has been advised by his doctors to cancel his concert engagements until further notice

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY’S SHENSON SPOTLIGHT SERIES HIGHLIGHTS ASCENDANT ARTISTS THROUGH FOUR DEBUT RECITALS AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL, JANUARY–JUNE 2024

January 31, pianist Eric Lu performs Franz Schubert’s Four Impromptus, Opus 142 and Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 3

February 21, cellist Gabriel Martins is joined by pianist Victor Santiago Asunción for a program of Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Opus 73; Claude Debussy’s Cello Sonata No. 1; Anton Webern’s Drei kleine Stücke, Opus 11; and Johannes Brahms’ Cello Sonata No. 2

March 6, violinist Alexandra Conunova presents a recital performing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Adagio in E major, Edvard Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 3, Camille Saint-Saëns’ Rondo capriccioso, and Franz Waxman’s Carmen Fantasie

June 26, violinist Stella Chen and pianist George Li perform Franz Schubert’s Rondo in B minor; Eleanor Alberga’s No Man’s Lullaby; and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN LEADS JULIA FISCHER AND THE ROYAL STOCKHOLM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA IN NOBEL PRIZE CONCERT DECEMBER 8

Stream the Nobel Prize Concert live and on-demand beginning December 8 at 7:00 PM CET / 10:00 AM PT

FIRST VIOLIN YUKIKO KURAKATA AND PRINCIPAL HORN ROBERT WARD RETIRE IN DECEMBER 2023

Calendar update: February 23 & 24 SoundBox program canceled 

THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY AND CARTIER PRESENT A MULTISENSORY PERFORMANCE OF ALEXANDER SCRIABIN’S PROMETHEUS, THE POEM OF FIRE
MARCH 1–3, 2024
 
A COLLABORATION BETWEEN SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY’S MUSIC DIRECTOR ESA-PEKKA SALONEN, PIANIST JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET, AND CARTIER IN-HOUSE PERFUMER MATHILDE LAURENT

SFS MEDIA RECORDINGS NOMINATED FOR TWO 2024 GRAMMY AWARDS
 
ESA-PEKKA SALONEN AND THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY NOMINATED FOR BEST ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE FOR IGOR STRAVINSKY: THE RITE OF SPRING

RAGNAR BOHLIN AND THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY CHORUS NOMINATED FOR BEST CHORAL PERFORMANCE FOR GYÖRGY LIGETI: LUX AETERNA

SAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC AND SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY’S EMERGING BLACK COMPOSERS PROJECT TO PARTNER WITH GAUTIER CAPUÇON FOR NEW COMMISSION

Composer Quenton Xavier Blache will receive $5,000 commission for a new piece to be featured on an upcoming album from Capuçon and premiered by the cellist at Davies Symphony Hall in the 2025–26 season

Blache was anonymously selected by Capuçon from the 2023 Emerging Black Composers Project applications

THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES FULL 2023 HOLIDAY CONCERT SEASON, NOVEMBER 30–DECEMBER 23, 2023, AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL

Special guests include vocalists Oleta Adams, Peabo Bryson, Jennifer Holliday, and Ruben Studdard in The Colors of Christmas; Mariachi Sol de México® de José Hernández in A Merry-Achi Christmas; Troupe Vertigo in Cirque Nutcracker; and Peaches Christ, Rory Davies, Bianca Del Rio, Renée Lubin, Dylan Mulvaney, Edwin Outwater, Michael Phillis, Nikola Printz, Sister Roma from The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus in Holiday Gaiety

Family-friendly performances include the Symphony’s annual Deck the Hall celebrations, Cirque Nutcracker, Peter and the Wolf performed by the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra with guest narrator Tom Kenny, holiday films The Nightmare Before Christmas and Home Alone, and A Charlie Brown Christmas—Live!

The SF Symphony performs live accompaniment to three iconic holiday films: The Nightmare Before Christmas, Love Actually, and Home Alone

Conductor Jonathan Cohen leads SF Symphony, Chorus, and vocal soloists in George Frideric Handel’s Messiah and Symphony’s popular Holiday Brass program returns

Tickets for holiday concerts available at sfsymphony.org/holiday

THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY YOUTH ORCHESTRA AND WATTIS FOUNDATION MUSIC DIRECTOR DANIEL STEWART PERFORM FIVE CONCERTS IN THE 2023–24 SEASON

November 19 season-opening concert includes Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Metacosmos, and Richard Wagner’s Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde

Other 2023–24 SFSYO performances include the ensemble’s annual Peter and the Wolf performance, this year with narrator Tom Kenny (December 10); a concert of works by Felix Mendelssohn, Arvo Pärt, Maurice Ravel, and Alexander Glazunov’s Violin Concerto featuring SFSYO Concerto Competition winner Hiro Yoshimura (March 17); and a performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 (May 19)

The SFSYO and Music Director Daniel Stewart host the Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival on January 14, featuring five local youth ensembles

THE SAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC AND SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCE CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR FOURTH ANNUAL EMERGING BLACK COMPOSERS PROJECT

This year’s competition looks to further identify and promote inventive Black musicians, of any music genre, under age 35; applications are due by February 1, 2024

CALIFORNIA FESTIVAL: A CELEBRATION OF NEW MUSIC
LAUNCHES NOVEMBER 3, 2023

100+ Participating Organizations in 90+ Venues Across California
Showcase Music Written in Past Five Years

180+ Works, Including 36 World Premieres,
To Be Performed November 3–19 

GUSTAVO DUDAMEL CONDUCTS THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL, NOVEMBER 24–26

Cuatro player Jorge Glem makes his Orchestral Series debut in the first SF Symphony performances of Gonzalo Grau’s Odisea: Concerto for Venezuelan Cuatro and Orchestra

The program also features Gabriela Ortiz’s Kauyumari and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 2

MAYOR BREED PROPOSES HONORING LONGTIME SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY MUSIC DIRECTOR MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS WITH STREET NAME

“MTT Way”, home to the iconic Davies Symphony Hall, would be added to the list of Commemorative Streets Names in San Francisco.

MUSIC DIRECTOR ESA-PEKKA SALONEN CONDUCTS THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY IN TWO CALIFORNIA FESTIVAL PROGRAMS AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL, NOVEMBER 10–18, 2023

The California Festival: A Celebration of New Music, taking place November 3–19, is a two-week, statewide festival featuring 100 organizations and ensembles across the state celebrating the most innovative and compelling music composed around the world in the last five years

November 10–12 performances feature the world premiere of Emerging Black Composers Project winner Jens Ibsen’s Drowned in Light, Salonen’s kínēma featuring San Francisco Symphony Principal Clarinet Carey Bell, and Igor Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements

November 17–18 performances feature Gabriella Smith’s Breathing Forests with organist James McVinnie alongside two works by Igor Stravinsky: Octet for Winds and Brass and Les Noces, featuring animated shorts by artist Hillary Leben

Additional San Francisco Symphony’s California Festival programming includes performances of works by Clarice Assad, Jason Hainsworth, Betsy Jolas, and Sarn Oliver, as well as SF Symphony Youth Orchestra performance of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Metacosmos

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY’S EXPERIMENTAL SOUNDBOX SERIES RETURNS FOR TENTH SEASON

2023–24 season includes performances curated by violinist, singer, and composer Mazz Swift, December 8–9; SF Symphony Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, March 8–9; and SF Symphony Collaborative Partner and roboticist Carol Reiley, April 5–6

New this season: SoundBox concerts begin at 8:30pm

COLBURN SCHOOL AND SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCE TWO NEW SALONEN CONDUCTING FELLOWS

Elias Peter Brown and Aleksandra Melaniuk join San Francisco Symphony conducting staff in the 2023–24 season as an extension of their work as Salonen Fellows in the Colburn School Conservatory of Music’s Negaunee Conducting Program

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN AND SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY RELEASE NEW SFS MEDIA RECORDINGS ON APPLE MUSIC CLASSICAL TODAY

Newly released digital-only recordings include Anders Hillborg’s Kongsgaard Variations and Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5

Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome, recorded live in concert in June 2022 will be released on Apple Music Classical on Friday, November 3

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY CELEBRATES DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS WITH CONCERT, LOBBY INSTALLATIONS, COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES, AND ¡FIESTA! DINNER EXPERIENCE, NOVEMBER 4

Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts the San Francisco Symphony in music by Clarice Assad, Arturo Márquez, Alfonso Leng, Silvestre Revueltas, and Arturo Rodríguez; vocalist Edna Vázquez performs a selection of songs with Harth-Bedoya and the Symphony; with performances by Casa Círculo Cultural and Canción de Obsidiana

Local artists, community groups, and Latin American cultural partners join the SF Symphony to celebrate Día de los Muertos through lobby art installations and preconcert activities

¡Fiesta! Día de los Muertos dinner packages include post-concert reception, seated dinner, and online auction plus premium concert seating

GUEST CONDUCTORS ELIM CHAN AND LUDOVIC MORLOT LEAD THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY IN CONCERTS AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 2023

Oct 26–28 Chan leads the Orchestra in Gustav Holst’s The Planets featuring the SF Symphony Chorus and Benjamin Britten’s Les Illuminations featuring tenor Andrew Staples in his Orchestral Series debut

Nov 2–4 Morlot conducts the United States premiere of Betsy Jolas’ Latest; Antonín Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, featuring violinist Augustin Hadelich; and Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition

Inspired by Pictures at an Exhibition, newly commissioned artwork by Bay Area artists Liz Hernández and Fernando Escartiz will be displayed in the Davies Symphony Hall lobby and on screen during the Nov 2–4 concerts

STING JOINS THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY FOR TWO CONCERTS, PERFORMING HIS MOST CELEBRATED HITS REIMAGINED FOR ORCHESTRA FEBRUARY 14 & 15, 2024

Tickets for An Evening with Sting and the San Francisco Symphony go on sale Friday, October 13, at 10am PT at sfsymphony.org

FEBRUARY 15, 16 & 18 SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAL SERIES PERFORMANCES CANCELED

Alternate programming for this week will be announced at a later date

MUSIC DIRECTOR LAUREATE MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS CONDUCTS THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY IN BEETHOVEN’S SYMPHONY NO. 9, OCTOBER 19 & 21–22, 2023, AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL

MTT and the Orchestra are joined by soprano Angel Blue, mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford, tenor Ben Bliss, bass Dashon Burton, and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus

San Francisco Symphony Chorus celebrates its 50th anniversary with these performances, and the concerts mark Chorus Director Jenny Wong’s first performances in her new role

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY MUSICIANS AND BOARD APPROVE NEW TWO-YEAR CONTRACT 

THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY’S 2023–24 CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES PRESENTS 10 PERFORMANCES AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL AND THE GUNN THEATER AT THE LEGION OF HONOR

2023–24 Chamber Music Series includes concerts at Davies Symphony Hall on November 5, December 17, January 28, April 21, May 26, and June 16

SF Symphony musicians Alexander Barantschik and Peter Wyrick, with pianist Anton Nel, perform four concerts at the Legion of Honor on October 8, December 3, January 28, and June 2

CONDUCTOR ELIM CHAN REPLACES DANIEL HARDING IN SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY PERFORMANCES OF GUSTAV HOLST’S THE PLANETS AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL, OCTOBER 26–28

Chan also conducts Benjamin Britten’s Les Illuminations, featuring tenor Andrew Staples; Les Illuminations replaces Ralph Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge on this program

Harding has withdrawn from these performances to step in for Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst on the Orchestra’s three-concert Israel debut in October

San Francisco Symphony enters entitlement process for potential renovations to Davies Symphony Hall

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY AND MUSIC DIRECTOR ESA-PEKKA SALONEN ANNOUNCE JENNY WONG AS NEXT SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY CHORUS DIRECTOR

Wong is the San Francisco Symphony Chorus’s fourth Director in the Chorus’s 50-year history

The San Francisco Symphony Chorus celebrates its 50th year during the 2023–24 season

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN AND SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCE FOUR NEW MUSICIANS JOINING THE ORCHESTRA DURING THE 2023-24 SEASON

New musicians include Second Violin Olivia Chen, Second Bassoon Justin Cummings, Associate Principal Flute Blair Francis Paponiu, and Assistant Librarian Matthew Searing

Chen, Cummings, Francis Paponiu, and Searing are joined by new SF Symphony musicians Principal Flute Yubeen Kim and Principal Harp Katherine Siochi, whose appointments were announced in August

THOMAS ADÈS WITHDRAWS FROM FEBRUARY 2024 SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY AND SOUNDBOX PERFORMANCES DUE TO SCHEDULING CONFLICT

Artists and programming for these concerts will be announced at a later date

THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY’S 2023–24 GREAT PERFORMERS SERIES PRESENTS EIGHT PERFORMANCES FEATURING ACCLAIMED SOLOISTS AND ENSEMBLES

Violinist Lisa Batiashvili, cellist Gautier Capuçon, and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet kick off 2023–24 Great Performers Series with special chamber music performance, October 15

Great Performers Series also features pianists Yefim Bronfman, Evgeny Kissin, Daniil Trifonov, and Yuja Wang; violinist Ray Chen; Joshua Bell & the Academy of St Martin in the Fields; and San Francisco Symphony Brass

ELLIE GOULDING ANNOUNCES SPECIAL INTIMATE U.S. SHOWS THIS FALL WITH ORCHESTRA, THREE NIGHTS ONLY

Goulding appears with San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall
Monday, November 20

Additional performances:
November 16 – New York City – Kings Theatre
November 22 – Los Angeles – Walt Disney Concert Hall

Ellie Goulding’s latest critically acclaimed album Higher Than Heaven out now