Press Room

Sep 10, 2021

(High-resolution images of the San Francisco Symphony and guest artist headshots are available for download from the Online Photo Library.)

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—The San Francisco Symphony kicks off its 2021–22 Season with a celebratory opening week of performances conducted by Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen and featuring Collaborative Partner esperanza spalding and the San Francisco-based contemporary ballet company Alonzo King LINES Ballet. On October 1, Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the San Francisco Symphony in the Re-Opening Night Concert, marking their first opening night concert together since Salonen assumed the post of Music Director last season. The program includes John Adams’ Slonimsky’s Earbox, Alberto Ginastera’s Estancia Suite, with dancers from LINES Ballet performing original choreography by Alonzo King, Silvestre Revueltas’ Noche de encantamiento from his film score to La noche de los Mayas, and features singer and bassist esperanza spalding and a jazz trio of guest musicians performing Wayne Shorter’s Gaia with the San Francisco Symphony. Bay Area audiences have multiple opportunities to hear this program, which is repeated in all three of the SF Symphony’s opening week performances—the All San Francisco Concert on September 30, Re-Opening Night on October 1, and the first Orchestral Series concert of the season on October 2. Tickets for the Re-Opening Night on October 1 can be purchased here and tickets for the Orchestral Series concert on October 2 can be purchased here.
 
Re-Opening Night will be recorded live for Great Performances on PBS. Great Performances: San Francisco Symphony Reopening Night premieres Friday, November 19 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app.
 
Re-Opening Night celebrations on October 1 begin prior to the concert with a complimentary Sparkling Wine Welcome in the Davies Symphony Hall lobby and continue following the concert with an outdoor After-Party at the corner of Grove & Franklin streets, featuring live music entertainment by DJL!, and others to be announced. A complimentary array of the city’s best culinary delicacies and drinks will be served by popular San Francisco establishments including Souvla, Anton SV Patisserie, Italian Homemade Company, and McCalls Catering. Sparkling Wine for the evening is generously donated by Scharffenberger Cellars and Single Malt Whisky is provided by The Macallan. Additional beverage partners include Broken Shed New Zealand Vodka, Rum Co. of Fiji, La Crema, Murphy Goode, Tree Fort Wines, and Topo Chico Sparkling Water. Décor for Re-Opening Night is provided by Blueprint Studios, with lighting design by Got Light. Other Re-Opening Night production partners include McCalls Catering and Events, Global Gourmet, and Hensley Event Resources. Re-Opening Night is made possible in part through the generous support of Signature Education Sponsor Neiman Marcus.
 
Proceeds from Re-Opening Night benefit the Symphony’s myriad artistic, education, and community programs. Patrons who wish to purchase a VIP Package for Re-Opening Night can choose from several options; information about each sponsor package can be found at sfsymphony.org/ReOpeningNight/vip. VIP guests are treated to a Sparkling Wine Welcome on the 2nd tier lobby of Davies Symphony Hall, premium seating for the Re-Opening Night Concert, and an invitation to the post-concert Encore Reception with Esa-Pekka Salonen, musicians, and guest artists.

   
The annual All San Francisco Concert is an essential part of the San Francisco Symphony’s opening week celebrations and is dedicated to and presented for the people involved with the Bay Area’s nonprofits, social services groups, and community organizations, in recognition of and gratitude for the work these groups do to serve and enrich the lives of Bay Area citizens. Invites are extended to volunteers and employees from a broad range of organizations such as Women’s Audio Mission, First Exposures, Mo’MAGIC, and the Youth Law Center, among many others. This year’s All San Francisco Concert on September 30 is co-chaired by Cynthia Inaba and Robert Melton 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, who founded the All San Francisco Concert in conjunction with the opening of Davies Symphony Hall in 1980, serves as honorary chair. The All San Francisco Concert is presented in partnership with the San Francisco Arts Commission.

The All San Francisco Concert includes the presentation of the Ellen Magnin Newman Award to honor an outstanding community-based arts organization that strengthens the Bay Area’s cultural fabric, serves vulnerable families and individuals, and creates a more just and equitable society for everyone who lives here. Recipients of the Award are celebrated at the All San Francisco Concert and receive a Symphony concert series subscription for two, as well as a cash grant. This year’s recipient of the Ellen Magnin Newman Award is Loco Bloco. Loco Bloco, sponsored by Jamestown Community Center, promotes San Francisco youth’s healthy transition into adulthood by engaging them in the creation and performance of music, dance, and theater rooted in Afro-Latino traditions. Loco Bloco encourages its youth to use multicultural art forms as a tool for their own empowerment and as a catalyst to help them overcome discrimination and bring about change in their communities.

About the San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is widely considered to be among the most artistically adventurous and innovative arts institutions in the United States, celebrated for its artistic excellence, creative performance concepts, active touring, award-winning recordings, and standard-setting education programs. In the 2020–21 season, the San Francisco Symphony welcomed conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen as its twelfth Music Director, embarking on a new vision for the present and future of the orchestral landscape. In their inaugural season together, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony introduced a groundbreaking artistic leadership model anchored by eight Collaborative Partners from a variety of cultural disciplines: Nicholas Britell, Julia Bullock, Claire Chase, Bryce Dessner, Pekka Kuusisto, Nico Muhly, Carol Reiley, and esperanza spalding. This group of visionary artists, thinkers, and doers, along with Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony, have set out to explore and develop new ideas inspired by the Partners’ unique areas of expertise, including innovative digital projects, expansive and imaginative performance concepts in a variety of concert formats, commissions of new music, and projects that foster collaboration across artistic and administrative areas. This exciting artistic future builds on the remarkable 25-year tenure of Michael Tilson Thomas as the San Francisco Symphony’s Music Director, who continues his rich relationship with the Symphony as its first Music Director Laureate.

CALENDAR EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE:
 

• Davies Symphony Hall is located at 201 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco.
• Tickets for concerts at Davies Symphony can be purchased via sfsymphony.org or by calling the San Francisco Symphony Box Office at 415-864-6000.
• Davies Symphony Hall is currently operating at full audience capacity. The San Francisco Symphony requires proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 for everyone ages 12 and up entering Davies Symphony Hall—including patrons, performers, volunteers, and staff. Full vaccination is defined as completion of the two-dose regimen of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered two weeks or more in advance of the concert. Audience members under age 12 must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test (PCR test within 72 hours of the event, or antigen [rapid] test within 24 hours of the event). All patrons are required to wear a face mask while attending performances. Details about health and safety protocols at Davies Symphony Hall can be found here.

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