April 2, 2026
Orchestral Series
May 8–10 Dima Slobodeniouk conducts Dutilleux’s Métaboles, Ibert’s Flute Concerto with Principal Flute Yubeen Kim, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4
May 15–17 Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt returns to conduct Mahler’s Symphony No. 9'
May 22–24 Cristian Măcelaru leads the Orchestra in the world premiere of Tyler Taylor’s Embers, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 featuring Simon Trpčeski, and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World
May 29–30 Miguel Harth-Bedoya makes his Orchestral Series debut conducting a program inspired by Spain and South America, including Ginastera’s Dances from Estancia, the United States premiere of Jimmy López’s Shift with Principal Trombone Timothy Higgins, Turina’s Danzas fantásticas, and Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole
Special Event
May 31 SF Symphony Chorus performs Morten Lauridsen's Lux aeterna and works by Brahms, Fauré, and more with Chorus Director Jenny Wong, organist Jonathan Dimmock, and pianist John Wilson
SF Symphony Youth Orchestra
May 17 Wattis Foundation Music Director Radu Paponiu leads the SFSYO in a concert of works by Beethoven, Shostakovich, and SFSYO keyboardist Dylan Hall
Chamber Music Concerts
May 3 SF Symphony musicians present a chamber music concert at Davies Symphony Hall
May 9, 14, & 30 SF Symphony musicians perform free Community Chamber Concerts at the SF Public Library’s Anza, Marina, and Portola branches
May 31 SF Symphony Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik, cellist Peter Wyrick, and pianist Anton Nel perform a chamber music program at the Legion of Honor
May 8–10 Dima Slobodeniouk conducts Dutilleux’s Métaboles, Ibert’s Flute Concerto with Principal Flute Yubeen Kim, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4
May 15–17 Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt returns to conduct Mahler’s Symphony No. 9'
May 22–24 Cristian Măcelaru leads the Orchestra in the world premiere of Tyler Taylor’s Embers, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 featuring Simon Trpčeski, and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World
May 29–30 Miguel Harth-Bedoya makes his Orchestral Series debut conducting a program inspired by Spain and South America, including Ginastera’s Dances from Estancia, the United States premiere of Jimmy López’s Shift with Principal Trombone Timothy Higgins, Turina’s Danzas fantásticas, and Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole
Special Event
May 31 SF Symphony Chorus performs Morten Lauridsen's Lux aeterna and works by Brahms, Fauré, and more with Chorus Director Jenny Wong, organist Jonathan Dimmock, and pianist John Wilson
SF Symphony Youth Orchestra
May 17 Wattis Foundation Music Director Radu Paponiu leads the SFSYO in a concert of works by Beethoven, Shostakovich, and SFSYO keyboardist Dylan Hall
Chamber Music Concerts
May 3 SF Symphony musicians present a chamber music concert at Davies Symphony Hall
May 9, 14, & 30 SF Symphony musicians perform free Community Chamber Concerts at the SF Public Library’s Anza, Marina, and Portola branches
May 31 SF Symphony Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik, cellist Peter Wyrick, and pianist Anton Nel perform a chamber music program at the Legion of Honor
Download a PDF of this Press Release Orchestral Series
May 8–10: Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony
Dima Slobodeniouk, former music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, conducts Henri Dutilleux’s Métaboles, in which each movement is a slight transformation of the movement that came before it, resulting in a complete metamorphosis. Principal Flute Yubeen Kim (Caroline H. Hume Chair) joins Slobodeniouk and the Orchestra to perform Jacques Ibert’s Flute Concerto in its first Symphony performances in more than 40 years. Kim calls the concerto “a true gem of the repertoire, standing alongside the Nielsen and Jolivet concertos as a showcase of the flute’s incredible virtuosity.” The program also includes Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, known for its “fate” theme, which the composer described as “that fatal force which hangs above your head like the sword of Damocles, and unwaveringly, constantly poisons the soul.”
May 15–17: Blomstedt Conducts Mahler 9
Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt returns to the San Francisco Symphony to conduct Gustav Mahler’s introspective Symphony No. 9. Written after the passing of his daughter and increasing health concerns, Symphony No. 9 was the composer’s last completed work before his death. In January 2027, the SF Symphony celebrates Blomstedt’s 100th birthday year in a program featuring Schubert’s Symphony No. 3 and Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony.
May 22–24: Măcelaru Conducts Dvořák’s New World
Cristian Măcelaru, music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre National de France, leads the Orchestra in the world premiere of Embers by Emerging Black Composers Project winner Tyler Taylor. “I wrote a piece that provides the SF Symphony with plenty of opportunities to showcase their artistry through dense, intricate textures and delicate, chamber/solo settings alike,” said Taylor. “Embers reflects on what we are experiencing together as a larger community—united by a need to be heard, the pursuit of peace, and a desire for progress.” Simon Trpčeski performs Sergei Rachmaninoff’s fiery Piano Concerto No. 1, which the composer wrote at the ages of 17 and 18. The program closes with Antonín Dvořák’s popular Symphony No. 9, From the New World. Written during the composer’s sojourn in the United States, the work reflects his deep interest in American culture.
May 29–30: Ravel & Music of the Americas
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, distinguished resident director of orchestras and professor of conducting at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, makes his Orchestral Series debut in this program, having previously conducted the SF Symphony in its annual Día de los Muertos concert in 2023. The concert opens with Alberto Ginastera’s Dances from Estancia based on a ballet depicting Argentine country life. SF Symphony Principal Trombone Timothy Higgins (Robert L. Samter Chair) then joins Harth-Bedoya and the Orchestra for the United States premiere of Jimmy López’s Shift, inspired by the bustling traffic in Lima, Peru, where the composer grew up. “During a walk I heard the pitch of beeping cars and ambulances change as they flew by, known as the Doppler effect in natural science,” said López. “Shift is about this kind of change in sound. Every part in this trombone concerto represents a different element, like water, light, and sound. In the final act these elements come together to create an explosion of sound.” The program also includes Danzas fantásticas, composer Joaquín Turina’s best-known work, and Maurice Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole, which draws on the composer’s Spanish heritage.
Special Event
May 31: San Francisco Symphony Chorus Concert
In this program, the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, led by Chorus Director Jenny Wong, performs Morten Lauridsen’s Lux aeterna for the first time. Lauridsen writes, “I composed Lux aeterna in response to my mother’s final illness and found great personal comfort and solace in setting to music these timeless and wondrous words about Light, a universal symbol of illumination at all levels - spiritual, artistic, and intellectual.” Accompanied by organist Jonathan Dimmock and pianist John Wilson, the Chorus also performs Johannes Brahms’s O schöne Nacht, Opus 92, no.1; Gabriel Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine, Opus 11; James MacMillan’s O Radiant Dawn; Lili Boulanger’s Hymne au soleil; Ola Gjeilo’s Across the Vast, Eternal Sky; and the traditional Heavenly Home: Three American Songs, arranged by Shawn Kirchner. The San Francisco Symphony does not appear in this performance.
San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra
May 17: San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra
Wattis Foundation Music Director Radu Paponiu conducts the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra in its final performance of the 2025–26 season. The program opens with Scherzo for Orchestra by Dylan Hall, who has been a keyboardist in the SFSYO for three seasons. The Orlando Philharmonic premiered the piece in 2024 after Hall won the National Young Composers Challenge. He received the Kris Getz Award for the composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The May 17 program also includes Ludwig van Beethoven’s energetic Symphony No. 1 and Dmitri Shostakovich’s forceful and triumphant Symphony No. 5. Comprised of more than 100 musicians under the age of 21 and representing communities from throughout the Bay Area, the SFSYO is recognized internationally as one of the finest youth orchestras in the world. The SFSYO provides a tuition-free orchestral experience of preprofessional caliber to talented young Bay Area musicians, with weekly rehearsals led by Paponiu.
Chamber Music Concerts
May 3: Chamber Music at Davies Symphony Hall
In this chamber music concert, San Francisco Symphony musicians perform Harry Burleigh’s “Negro Lullaby” and “An Ante-Bellum Sermon” from Six Plantation Melodies Old and New; Carl Nielsen’s Serenata in vano; Jean Françaix’s String Trio; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Divertimento in B-flat major, K.Anh.229/KV.439, no.5; and Sergei Prokofiev’s Quintet in G minor.
May 9, 14, & 30: Free Concerts at San Francisco Public Libraries
The San Francisco Symphony's free Community Chamber Concert series features small ensembles from the Symphony performing at community spaces across San Francisco. These concerts are an opportunity for audiences to get to know SF Symphony musicians and see them perform in an intimate setting.
On May 9 at 2:00pm at the San Francisco Public Library’s Portola Branch, SF Symphony musicians perform a Community Chamber Concert and engage in a Q&A with the audience.
On May 14 at 5:30pm at the San Francisco Public Library’s Marina Branch, Associate Principal Cello Anne Richardson (Peter & Jacqueline Hoefer Chair) and Associate Principal Bass Dan Smith perform a Community Chamber Concert and engage in a Q&A with the audience.
On May 30 at 2:30pm at the San Francisco Public Library’s Anza Branch, First Violin Jeein Kim and cellist Davis You (Lyman & Carol Casey Second Century Chair) perform a Community Chamber Concert and engage in a Q&A with the audience.
All Community Chamber Concerts are free and open to the public.
May 31: Chamber Music at Gunn Theater at Legion of Honor
This chamber music program at the Gunn Theater at the Legion of Honor features SF Symphony Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik (Naoum Blinder Chair), former Symphony cellist Peter Wyrick, and guest pianist Anton Nel performing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Trio in E major, K.542, Johannes Brahms's Cello Sonata No. 1, and Robert Schumann’s Piano Trio No. 1.
[To view or download the full PDF version of this press release with calendar listings, click on DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THIS PRESS RELEASE]
