San Francisco Symphony's All San Francisco Concert Takes Place September 25

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—As part of its celebratory annual season-opening festivities, the San Francisco Symphony performs its All San Francisco Concert on September 25 this year. Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero leads the program, which features SF Symphony Principal Bassoon Joshua Elmore in Carl Maria von Weber’s virtuosic Bassoon Concerto. The performance marks Elmore’s solo debut with the SF Symphony since joining as Principal Bassoon in 2025. The program also includes Bay Area-based composer John Adams's The Chairman Dances—a “foxtrot for orchestra” written while the composer completed his opera Nixon in China—Gabriela Lena Frank’s Three Latin American Dances, and Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio espangol, a five-movement orchestral show piece inspired by Spanish folk music.

The All San Francisco Concert is a 47-year-strong tradition celebrating the people who work tirelessly to make the Bay Area a more just and equitable place. This special San Francisco Symphony program is offered at a subsidized ticket price of $12 for Bay Area nonprofit, social services, and grassroots organizations. Founded by San Francisco Symphony Life Governor, native San Franciscan, veteran philanthropist, and patron of the arts Ellen Magnin Newman, and led by an advisory committee of nonprofit and community leaders, the All San Francisco Concert is an important pillar of the San Francisco Symphony’s ongoing work to make the Symphony an accessible, welcoming space for all Bay Area residents, regardless of income.

A limited number of $12 tickets are available to the general public now.   

In honor of its founder, the All San Francisco Concert also includes the presentation of the Ellen Magnin Newman Award. Recipients of the award are celebrated at the All San Francisco Concert and receive a San Francisco Symphony concert series subscription for two as well as a cash grant. This year’s recipient of the Ellen Magnin Newman Award is Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Americas (CANA).

"CANA is honored to receive and share this award with all our artists, volunteers and supporters who unconditionally contribute with AMOR in our journey to preserve our indigenous cultural traditions," said CANA CEO Roberto Hernandez. "We are truly grateful for the recognition!"

For over four decades, CANA has preserved and celebrated the many traditions of the Latino, Caribbean, and African diasporas in the San Francisco Bay Area through culturally and linguistically relevant dance, music, and art programming, and by creating spaces for community learning, advocacy, and human services. Since 1978, CANA has produced Carnaval San Francisco, the largest multicultural festival in California. In May 2026, Carnaval San Francisco was attended by more than 400,000 guests. The free, two–day event covered 17 city blocks, with five main stages, 60 local performing artists, and 300 vendors representing the heritage of countries including Brazil, Mexico, Trinidad, Tobago, Puerto Rico and beyond. CANA stands as a beacon of hope for the stewardship of cultural traditions and the creation of a new, more inclusive American culture.

Learn more about the Ellen Magnin Newman Award here.

The All San Francisco Concert is presented in partnership with the San Francisco Arts Commission.  

All San Francisco Committee
This year’s All San Francisco Concert on September 25 is cochaired by Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. (San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company) and Judy Tsang (ITVS) and guided by an advisory committee made up of an inspiring and creative group of advisors and collaborators. SF Symphony Life Governor Ellen Magnin Newman serves as honorary chair.  

In addition, the All San Francisco Committee includes Erik Auerbach (First Exposures), Ryan Babbitt (Booker T. Washington Community Service Center), Edith Castorena (Brava! For Women in the Arts), Carrie Cottini (SFJAZZ), Rebeca Abidaíl Flores (artist & First Exposures), Brittany Ford (MAGIC SF, San Francisco Public Defender’s Office), Leslie Hawkins (nonprofit arts and culture event producer), Donna Hilliard (Code Tenderloin), Cristina Ibarra (Yerba Buena Gardens Festival), Cynthia Inaba (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco), Evan Johnson (theater arts program director & local arts community builder), Lisa Kvetchman (community organizer), Joanne Lee (arts, culture, and community development consultant), Sally Low (San Francisco Symphony Volunteer Council Chair), Andrea Martin (Asian Art Museum), Robert Melton (Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California, Chair Arts Forum/Art Curator), Barbara Ockel (Shipyard Trust for the Arts), Nia Pearl (poet and literary arts curator), Ryan Pinter (UC Law San Francisco), Josué Rojas (San Francisco-based fine artist & muralist), and Julie Strobel (Openhouse).

About the San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is among the most adventurous and innovative arts institutions in the United States, celebrated for its artistic excellence, creative performance concepts, award-winning recordings, and standard-setting education and community engagement programs. Since it was established in 1911, the Symphony has a grown in acclaim under a succession of distinguished music directors: Henry Hadley, Alfred Hertz, Basil Cameron, Issay Dobrowen, Pierre Monteux, Enrique Jordá, Josef Krips, Seiji Ozawa, Edo de Waart, Herbert Blomstedt, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. In May 2026, the Symphony announced Elim Chan as its 13th Music Director, beginning with the 2027–28 season. The San Francisco Symphony is deeply committed to nurturing the next generation of musicians and music lovers through a comprehensive range of educational programs. These include Fisher Family Adventures in Music (AIM) and Music and Mentors, which serve more than 25,000 San Francisco public school students annually; interactive youth and family concerts; heritage events; and the prestigious, tuition-free San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. With a reputation for artistic daring and a dedication to excellence, innovation, and community engagement, the San Francisco Symphony continues to shape the future of orchestral music, making a lasting impact on the cultural fabric of San Francisco and the world.

About the San Francisco Symphony’s community programs
In addition to the All San Francisco Concert, the San Francisco Symphony has a robust lineup of community programs and events, including Music in the Wards, which brings SF Symphony musicians to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital for monthly concerts; the free Community Chamber Concerts series, which partners with a broad range of organizations to bring small ensemble concerts to communities across the Bay Area; and Deck the Hall Community Day, an annual holiday concert performed for approximately 2,500 young people in Davies Symphony Hall every December. Each fall, the Symphony celebrates Día de los Muertos with a concert program of traditional and contemporary Latin American music, preceded by a festive array of family-friendly activities and curated lobby installations. In celebration of Lunar New Year, the Symphony performs an annual concert honoring the musical cultures of East, South, and Southeast Asia. The San Francisco Symphony’s Community Ticket Program is designed to provide equitable access to the Orchestra’s concerts by providing free tickets to people who work with or are served by nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay Area. To learn more about the Symphony’s extensive community engagement programs, visit sfsymphony.org/community.

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