July 1, 2026
The San Francisco Symphony’s 2026–27 season brings together renowned guest artists, visually imaginative productions, and programs that explore themes of spirituality, myth, and nature.
Kicking off the season, jazz singer Samara Joy, folk musician Gregory Alan Isakov, and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Fantastic Negrito each join the San Francisco Symphony for one-night-only performances. Violinist Hilary Hahn headlines the Opening Gala, while acclaimed composer Joe Hisaishi leads a program of his own music, including a new Concerto for Orchestra. Other celebrated artists lighting up the Davies Symphony Hall stage include violinists Ray Chen, Joshua Bell, and Itzhak Perlman; pianists Seong-Jin Cho, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Hélène Grimaud, and Yuja Wang; and soprano Renée Fleming.
Elim Chan, San Francisco Symphony Music Director Designate, returns to conduct the first Symphony performances of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic Symphony, alongside choral works of Brahms and Arvo Pärt with the SF Symphony Chorus and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with Renaud Capuçon.
In addition to Chan’s program, the Orchestra celebrates Adams’s 80th birthday with San Francisco Symphony premieres of The Dharma at Big Sur, featuring photography and video by Deborah O’Grady, and The Rock You Stand On led by Marin Alsop.
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Kicking off the season, jazz singer Samara Joy, folk musician Gregory Alan Isakov, and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Fantastic Negrito each join the San Francisco Symphony for one-night-only performances. Violinist Hilary Hahn headlines the Opening Gala, while acclaimed composer Joe Hisaishi leads a program of his own music, including a new Concerto for Orchestra. Other celebrated artists lighting up the Davies Symphony Hall stage include violinists Ray Chen, Joshua Bell, and Itzhak Perlman; pianists Seong-Jin Cho, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Hélène Grimaud, and Yuja Wang; and soprano Renée Fleming.
Elim Chan, San Francisco Symphony Music Director Designate, returns to conduct the first Symphony performances of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic Symphony, alongside choral works of Brahms and Arvo Pärt with the SF Symphony Chorus and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with Renaud Capuçon.
In addition to Chan’s program, the Orchestra celebrates Adams’s 80th birthday with San Francisco Symphony premieres of The Dharma at Big Sur, featuring photography and video by Deborah O’Grady, and The Rock You Stand On led by Marin Alsop.
Story continues below...
Composer, conservationist, and Berkeley native Gabriella Smith steps into the role of Creative Partner, with performances of the SF Symphony-commissioned violin concerto, How to Be a Bird, the tone poem Tumblebird Contrails (paired with Adams’s The Dharma at Big Sur), and Tidalwave Kitchen with the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra. Additional activities include an ecologically themed day of service and a partnership with the Gardens of Golden Gate Park.
Continuing a series of recent collaborations with the San Francisco Symphony, Alonzo King LINES Ballet brings new choreography to works of Debussy and Copland. Stravinsky’s The Firebird arrives in a striking production by director Janni Younge, featuring larger-than-life puppets and African dance forms.
Three San Francisco Symphony musicians take center stage as soloists: Principal Cello Rainer Eudeikis (Philip Boone Chair) performs Prokofiev’s Sinfonia concertante, and Principal Harp Katherine Siochi and Principal Percussion Jacob Nissly give the world premiere of an SF Symphony-commissioned concerto by Rene Orth in a program conducted by former Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen. The remarkable Herbert Blomstedt, Conductor Laureate, celebrates his centenary season with music of Schubert and Bruckner.
The Orchestra and Chorus also partner with San Francisco’s Congregation Emanu-El, Cantor Arik Luck, and conductor Teddy Abrams to present the Symphony’s first performance of Ernest Bloch’s Sacred Service.
Film offerings in 2026–27 include Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Avatar, the silent classic Metropolis, and family favorites including Hook and Disney and Pixar’s UP.
View the full season at sfsymphony.org/2026-27.
Continuing a series of recent collaborations with the San Francisco Symphony, Alonzo King LINES Ballet brings new choreography to works of Debussy and Copland. Stravinsky’s The Firebird arrives in a striking production by director Janni Younge, featuring larger-than-life puppets and African dance forms.
Three San Francisco Symphony musicians take center stage as soloists: Principal Cello Rainer Eudeikis (Philip Boone Chair) performs Prokofiev’s Sinfonia concertante, and Principal Harp Katherine Siochi and Principal Percussion Jacob Nissly give the world premiere of an SF Symphony-commissioned concerto by Rene Orth in a program conducted by former Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen. The remarkable Herbert Blomstedt, Conductor Laureate, celebrates his centenary season with music of Schubert and Bruckner.
The Orchestra and Chorus also partner with San Francisco’s Congregation Emanu-El, Cantor Arik Luck, and conductor Teddy Abrams to present the Symphony’s first performance of Ernest Bloch’s Sacred Service.
Film offerings in 2026–27 include Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Avatar, the silent classic Metropolis, and family favorites including Hook and Disney and Pixar’s UP.
View the full season at sfsymphony.org/2026-27.
