Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser Extends Contract With the San Francisco Symphony Through the 2026-27 Season

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser has extended his contract with the San Francisco Symphony through the 2026–27 season.

Bartholomew-Poyser joined the San Francisco Symphony’s conducting staff in the 2021–22 season and has led the SF Symphony in a variety of educational and family-friendly concerts, including the Orchestra’s annual Adventures in Music concerts, Music for Families programs, Teen Night, and Deck the Hall and Deck the Hall Community Day. Since 2021, he has served as chair of the selection committee for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and San Francisco Symphony’s Emerging Black Composers Project, a 10-year commitment to spotlighting early-career Black American composers and their music. During his tenure, he has also conducted the San Francisco Symphony in a Holiday Soul performance featuring vocalist Sheléa in 2021; an Orchestral Series program honoring the late Michael Morgan in February 2022; and the San Francisco Symphony’s annual free Stern Grove concert in 2022. Bartholomew-Poyser is also host of the SF Symphony’s free, hour-long online educational resource, Musical Heroes: Stories of African-American Composers—an exploration of the life, work, and impact of Florence Price (1887–1953), William Grant Still (1895–1978), and George Walker (1922–2018), intended for students in middle school and high school classrooms and above. Bartholomew-Poyser’s appointment in 2021 as Resident Conductor of Education and Engagement built on several years of engagements and collaborations with the San Francisco Symphony, including curating and hosting the Explore and Create component of the Symphony’s CURRENTS video series and conducting a variety of Education, SoundBox, and holiday concerts.

Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser said, “I am thrilled to have been re-engaged with the San Francisco Symphony! Over the past years we've challenged existing formats and innovated new interactive concert experiences that will help grow our future audience. Introducing tens of thousands to the incredible artistry of the musicians of the San Francisco Symphony continues to be a career highlight. I am looking forward to co-creating more innovating, exciting and engaging experiences for the people of San Francisco and the Bay Area!”

“Daniel brings passion, warmth, and boundless creativity to everything he does with the Symphony," said San Francisco Symphony CEO Matthew Spivey. “With his magnetic stage presence and unique ability to connect with audiences of all ages, Daniel inspires a deep appreciation for music. We’re excited to continue collaborating with him as he and the Orchestra cultivate a newfound love for classical music in our youngest audiences.”

Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser’s 2024–25 season performances with the SF Symphony
During the 2024–25 season, Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser conducts the San Francisco Symphony in several education and family programs. In December, Bartholomew-Poyser led the San Francisco Symphony in the annual Deck the Hall and Deck the Hall Community Day concerts, one of the Orchestra’s beloved holiday traditions.

Adventures in Music concerts—January 13–15 & 17 and March 17 & 20–21
In January and March, Bartholomew-Poyser conducts the San Francisco Symphony in 12 Adventures in Music concerts at Davies Symphony Hall, welcoming more than 20,000 elementary school students from the San Francisco Unified School District to Davies Symphony Hall for a free educational concert.

The Fisher Family Adventures in Music (AIM) program launched in 1988 in partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District and ensures that every child in grades 1–5 in San Francisco’s public elementary schools receives equitable access to music education for five consecutive years. Presented free of charge to schools, AIM offers an interdisciplinary program which integrates live music performances and related music-learning experiences with the everyday classroom curriculum. The program consists of in-school ensemble performances, tailored classroom materials and student workbooks, resources for teachers, and a private concert by the San Francisco Symphony and Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser at Davies Symphony Hall. The program introduces students to music of the world in addition to western classical music and reflects the diverse cultural heritage of the city’s student population. All components of AIM are aligned with the Common Core Standards and integrate with core subject curriculum. Learn more about AIM and the Symphony’s robust lineup of education programs.

Music for Families—January 18
On Saturday, January 18, Bartholomew-Poyser conducts a sci-fi themed Music for Families program, featuring music from Alexander Courage’s score to Star Trek, James Horner’s scores to Apollo 13 and Aliens, and John Williams’ scores to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Wars, and Jurassic Park, alongside works by Jessie Montgomery, Claude Debussy, and SF Symphony horn player Jonathan Ring. This concert is best suited for families with children ages 5–12.

Teen Night—March 22
Saturday, March 22, Bartholomew-Poyser conducts the fourth annual Teen Night with the SF Symphony. Conceived and programmed by Bartholomew-Poyser, Teen Night is an innovative concert aimed at teens and young adults that features interactive elements like games, trivia, and prizes alongside an eclectic concert of music to be announced. This concert is designed for ages 13 and up.

About Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser
A passionate communicator, Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser brings clarity and meaning to the concert hall, fostering deep connections between audiences and performers. He is concurrently the Principal Youth Conductor and Creative Partner of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Principal Education Conductor and Community Ambassador of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Artist in Residence and Community Ambassador of Symphony Nova Scotia and Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education of the San Francisco Symphony.

Daniel has guest conducted the New York Philharmonic, Canadian Opera Company, Houston Symphony, Carnegie Hall Link-Up Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, Regina Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, Windsor Symphony, Kingston Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Ensemble Obiora, and National Symphony Orchestra, and is the Music Director of the Kennedy Center Summer Music Institute. He served as Assistant Conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Associate Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and was Cover Conductor with the Washington National Opera. In the 2024–25 season, Daniel will make his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Sacramento Philharmonic.

Daniel is the host of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Centre Stage, a nationally broadcast weekly radio show all about orchestral music, and was the feature subject of an award winning, full length Canadian Broadcasting Company documentary called Disruptor Conductor, focusing on his efforts to extend the boundaries of the orchestral music world through concerts for neurodiverse, incarcerated, African diaspora, and LGBTQ2S+ populations.

Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser earned a Bachelor of Music Performance and Education from the University of Calgary and a Master of Philosophy in Performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.

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