Ben Folds with the San Francisco Symphony
November 26, 2019
Overview
Widely regarded as one of the major music influencers of his generation, pianist and singer-songwriter Ben Folds joins the SF Symphony for a concert of hits spanning his decades-long career as a solo artist and frontman of alternative rock trio, Ben Folds Five. Spend an evening with this multitalented musician who brought you hits like “Brick,” “Annie Waits,” and “The Luckiest.”
Edwin Outwater
Conductor
Edwin Outwater regularly works with the world’s top orchestras, institutions, and artists to reinvent the concert experience. His ability to cross genres has led to collaborations with Metallica, Wynton Marsalis, Renée Fleming, and Yo-Yo Ma. He is music director of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and music director laureate of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
Recent appearances include the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and the New World Symphony, as well as the Royal Philharmonic. He also served as a producer and musical advisor for the National Symphony Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary Concert at the Kennedy Center. In December 2022, he premiered A Christmas Gaiety at the Royal Albert Hall with Peaches Christ and the BBC Concert Orchestra, and returned in 2023.
Outwater has held a long association with San Francisco Symphony. He was appointed Resident Conductor and Wattis Foundation Music Director of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra by Michael Tilson Thomas in 2001 and they have been friends and colleagues since.
Recent appearances include the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and the New World Symphony, as well as the Royal Philharmonic. He also served as a producer and musical advisor for the National Symphony Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary Concert at the Kennedy Center. In December 2022, he premiered A Christmas Gaiety at the Royal Albert Hall with Peaches Christ and the BBC Concert Orchestra, and returned in 2023.
Outwater has held a long association with San Francisco Symphony. He was appointed Resident Conductor and Wattis Foundation Music Director of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra by Michael Tilson Thomas in 2001 and they have been friends and colleagues since.
Ben Folds
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vocalist and pianist
Emmy Award–nominated composer, singer-songwriter, and pianist Ben Folds is widely regarded as one of the major musical influences of his generation. His enormous body of genre-bending music includes pop albums with Ben Folds Five, multiple solo albums, and numerous collaborative records.
His latest album, What Matters Most, is a blend of piano-driven pop rock songs, while his 2015 Concerto for Piano and Orchestra soared to No. 1 on both the Billboard Classical and Classical Crossover charts. For nearly two decades, Mr. Folds has performed with some of the world’s greatest orchestras, and currently serves as artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in May 2014.
His latest album, What Matters Most, is a blend of piano-driven pop rock songs, while his 2015 Concerto for Piano and Orchestra soared to No. 1 on both the Billboard Classical and Classical Crossover charts. For nearly two decades, Mr. Folds has performed with some of the world’s greatest orchestras, and currently serves as artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in May 2014.
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