FILM WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA
Titanic
April 04 & 05, 2025
Concert Extras
Food & Drink Special: Head to the bar to sip on a blue Heart of the Ocean cocktail inspired by the film. And, satisfy your sweet tooth with a tasty Sweet Heart of the Ocean macaron.
Artists
Conductor
Vocalist
Uilleann Pipes and Whistles
Valérie Sainte-Agathe, Artistic Director
San Francisco Symphony
Sponsors
These concerts are sponsored by Ella Qing Hou and J. Sanford Miller.
Sarah Hicks
Conductor
Sarah Hicks is a conductor, educator, arranger, producer, writer, and speaker committed to creating connections through music. She has collaborated with diverse artists including Hilary Hahn, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Rufus Wainwright, Ben Folds, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, and Sting. Her passion for cross-genre partnerships led to a 2019 album with rap artist Dessa and the Minnesota Orchestra, where she is principal conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall.
Ms. Hicks made her San Francisco Symphony debut in July 2009 and has also worked with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Pops, Toronto Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, RTÉ Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, Czech National Symphony, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, and Malaysian Philharmonic. Her commitment to new music led to a micro-commission project, and her recording of new concertos, Triple Doubles, has been released by the Bridge label. Her interest in the intersection of mental health and music led to the production of a concert titled Music and the Mind.
Born in Japan and raised in Hawaii, Ms. Hicks is fluent in Japanese and holds degrees from Harvard University and the Curtis Institute of Music.
Alice Zawadzki
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Vocalist
Alice Zawadzki is a vocalist, violinist, songwriter, and composer based in London. Her sound draws from her early exposure to New Orleans jazz and gospel, extensive classical training, and a continuous exploration of improvisation, poetry, and folk music from diverse traditions. She performs extensively as both a soloist and as a collaborator, with headline performances at major UK alternative and jazz venues and festivals.
Eric Rigler
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Uilleann Pipes and Whistles
For more than 30 years, Eric Rigler has been the predominant performer of Celtic bagpipes and Irish whistles heard on Oscar-winning films and Grammy-winning albums. His solos are familiar through the films Titanic, Braveheart, and Austin Powers, and television’s Battlestar Galactica, The Simpsons, and South Park. He has also performed with Paul McCartney, Josh Groban, Phil Collins, Keith Urban, Bette Midler, Meatloaf, Dream, Tracy Chapman, Rod Stewart, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and many others.
San Francisco Girls Chorus
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Valérie Sainte-Agathe, Artistic Director
Established in 1978, the mission of the San Francisco Girls Chorus is to create outstanding performances featuring the unique and compelling sound of young women’s voices through an exemplary program committed to education and visionary leadership in the development of this art form. Under the direction of Artistic Director Valérie Sainte-Agathe, the San Francisco Girls Chorus has achieved an incomparable sound that underscores the unique clarity and force of impeccably trained treble voices fused with expressiveness and drama.
SFGC offers a sequential six-ensemble choral training program for girls, young women, and non-binary and gender-expansive youth, ages 4–18, from throughout the Bay Area. Ensembles include the semi-professional Concert Group and the professional-level performance, recording, and touring Premier Ensemble. A leading voice in the Bay Area and national music scenes, the chorus has produced award-winning concerts, recordings, and tours; empowered young women in music and other fields; enhanced and expanded the field of music for treble voices; and set the international standard for the highest level of performance and education.
SFGC offers a sequential six-ensemble choral training program for girls, young women, and non-binary and gender-expansive youth, ages 4–18, from throughout the Bay Area. Ensembles include the semi-professional Concert Group and the professional-level performance, recording, and touring Premier Ensemble. A leading voice in the Bay Area and national music scenes, the chorus has produced award-winning concerts, recordings, and tours; empowered young women in music and other fields; enhanced and expanded the field of music for treble voices; and set the international standard for the highest level of performance and education.
