Great Performers Series
Gautier Capuçon: Gaïa
November 16, 2025
Overview
Cellist Gautier Capuçon presents a recital program dedicated to and inspired by Earth. Featuring world premiere performances of commissioned works by 16 composers—including Bryce Dessner, Joe Hisaishi, Missy Mazzoli, Gabriela Montero, Nico Muhly, Max Richter, Ludovico Einaudi, and Ayanna Witter-Johnson—Gaïa pays tribute to Earth: its beauty, its fragility, its strength.This program is presented without intermission.
Please note that the concert start time has been changed to 7:00pm.
Artists
Cello
Cello
Cello and Vocals
Piano
SFS Youth Orchestra Cello
SFS Youth Orchestra Cello
SFS Youth Orchestra Cello
SFS Youth Orchestra Cello
SFS Youth Orchestra Cello
SFS Youth Orchestra Cello
Program
Max
Richter
Sequence for Gaïa
Armand
Amar
Boreas
Jean-Benoît
Dunckel
Wake
Gabriela
Montero
Sur le lac du Bourget
Olivia
Belli
Tàmâr Metushelah
Missy
Mazzoli
The Usual Illusion
Joe
Hisaishi
Prélude pour violoncelle et piano
Ludovico
Einaudi
Air
Xavier
Foley
Ambition
Nico
Muhly
Side Piece
Bryce
Dessner
Towards the Light
Abel
Selaocoe
Toro Tsa Kwa
Michael
Canitrot
Never Say Never
Ayanna
Witter-Johnson
Forever Home
Quenton
Blache
Of Wind and Rain
Jasmine
Barnes
Life in Sunshine
Sponsors
Presenting Sponsor of The Great Performers Series
Gautier Capuçon
Cello
Gautier Capuçon is one of the foremost cello ambassadors in the 21st century. Performing worldwide with leading conductors and instrumentalists, he also created the Fondation Gautier Capuçon in 2022, dedicated to supporting outstanding young musicians.
Highlights of his 2026–27 season include a return to the BBC Proms with the BBC Symphony and appearances with the Singapore Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony, Filarmonica della Scala, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Sydney Symphony, and Boston Symphony, among others. He also tours with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, and Orchestre de Paris. In addition to the current trio tour with Lisa Batiashvili and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, he also performs Beethoven piano trios with Evgeny Kissin and Maxim Vengerov at Chicago’s Symphony Center and Carnegie Hall.
An exclusive recording artist for Erato (Warner Music), Capuçon has a rich discography that has earned numerous awards. His 2020 release Émotions reached gold status in France, topping the charts for more than 30 weeks. His next album, Sensations (2022), became the first classical recording to reach No. 1 in France’s all-genre charts, followed by Destination Paris (2023). In 2025, he released the album Gaïa with 16 new compositions commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony and premiered on the Great Performers Series. Capuçon made his San Francisco Symphony debut in November 2009 as a Shenson Young Artist.
Quenton Blache
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Cello
Quenton Blache is a cellist and composer based in Los Angeles. He has performed nationally and internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and is a current member of the Sphinx Virtuosi. He has won several competitions, including the University of Southern California Bach Competition and Strings Concerto Competition. He performed the Dvořák Cello Concerto with the Peninsula Symphony in 2022, and Bloch’s Schelomo with the USC Thornton Symphony in 2023. A frequent session musician, he has played on soundtracks for Moana 2 and Sinners. Last January, he performed at the Grammy Awards with Best New Artist nominee Teddy Swims. He makes his debut at the San Francisco Symphony with this performance.
As a composer, Blache has written works for the Little Orchestra Society, North Carolina Chamber Music Institute, MYCO Youth Chamber Orchestra, and Sphinx Organization, among other groups. His string orchestra work Visions of Peace was recently performed by the Sphinx Virtuosi at Carnegie Hall. He has also scored several films, including Shape of Money and the documentary The Gospel According to Bill Pannell.
Blache holds bachelor’s degrees from USC in cello performance and composition, a minor in Chinese, and a master’s degree in screen scoring. He plays on a modern cello made by Paris-based luthier Michael Fazio.
As a composer, Blache has written works for the Little Orchestra Society, North Carolina Chamber Music Institute, MYCO Youth Chamber Orchestra, and Sphinx Organization, among other groups. His string orchestra work Visions of Peace was recently performed by the Sphinx Virtuosi at Carnegie Hall. He has also scored several films, including Shape of Money and the documentary The Gospel According to Bill Pannell.
Blache holds bachelor’s degrees from USC in cello performance and composition, a minor in Chinese, and a master’s degree in screen scoring. He plays on a modern cello made by Paris-based luthier Michael Fazio.
Ayanna Witter-Johnson
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Cello and Vocals
Ayanna Witter-Johnson is a multi-talented singer, songwriter, pianist, and cellist who crosses the boundaries of classical, jazz, reggae, soul, and R&B. A second-generation Jamaican born in Britain, she has collaborated with Anoushka Shankar, Nitin Sawhney, Andrea Bocelli, and Jools Holland. She has also toured extensively across the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, most recently with Peter Gabriel.
After graduating from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire and Manhattan School of Music, Witter-Johnson participated in the London Symphony’s Panufnik Young Composers Scheme. Soon after, as an emerging artist in residence at London’s Southbank Centre, she performed as a featured artist with Courtney Pine’s Afropeans: Jazz Warriors. Later, she became the only non-American to win Amateur Night Live at the Apollo Theatre. As a composer, Witter-Johnson has been commissioned by the London Symphony, Güerzenich Orchestra, Ligeti Quartet, Kronos Quartet, and Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company. She has released three EPs and a debut album, Road Runner. She makes her San Francisco Symphony debut with this performance.
After graduating from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire and Manhattan School of Music, Witter-Johnson participated in the London Symphony’s Panufnik Young Composers Scheme. Soon after, as an emerging artist in residence at London’s Southbank Centre, she performed as a featured artist with Courtney Pine’s Afropeans: Jazz Warriors. Later, she became the only non-American to win Amateur Night Live at the Apollo Theatre. As a composer, Witter-Johnson has been commissioned by the London Symphony, Güerzenich Orchestra, Ligeti Quartet, Kronos Quartet, and Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company. She has released three EPs and a debut album, Road Runner. She makes her San Francisco Symphony debut with this performance.
Jérôme Ducros
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Piano
Pianist and composer Jérôme Ducros is a multifaceted artist, performing a very broad repertoire, and is a regular recital partner of Gautier Capuçon and Renaud Capuçon, among many other string players and singers. He has performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Berlin Philharmonie, Musikverein, Vienna Konzerthaus, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, and Mariinsky Theatre, among other venues. His substantial discography includes more than 20 albums on the Erato, Harmonia Mundi, Decca, and Virgin Classics labels.
Ducros won the Umberto Micheli International Piano Competition, organized by Maurizio Pollini at La Scala in Milan, and has performed as a soloist with Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Orchestre National de Lille, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Orchestre Français des Jeunes, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic. He makes his debut at the San Francisco Symphony with this performance.
Ducros won the Umberto Micheli International Piano Competition, organized by Maurizio Pollini at La Scala in Milan, and has performed as a soloist with Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Orchestre National de Lille, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Orchestre Français des Jeunes, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic. He makes his debut at the San Francisco Symphony with this performance.
Melissa Lam
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SFS Youth Orchestra Cello
Melissa Lam studies with Sergei Riabtchenko and is a Co-Principal Cello of the SFSYO. She won grand prize in the 2025 Antonín Dvořák Competition, as well as first prizes in the 2025 Pacific Musical Society & Foundation Competition, 2024 American Virtuoso Competition, 2023 US Open Music Competition, 2022 International “The Muse” Competition, and the 2022 International JSFest Music Competition.
Timothy Huang
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SFS Youth Orchestra Cello
Timothy Huang is a student of Adelle-Akiko Kearns. He has also played with the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra and San Jose Youth Symphony. He has won first place in the US Open International Music Competition, second place in the Korean American Music Society Association, and is a VOCE competition state finalist and a recipient of the Irene Sharp Scholarship.
Anthony Jung
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SFS Youth Orchestra Cello
Anthony Jung is a student of Jonathan Koh. He has also played in the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, California Youth Symphony Senior Orchestra, and 2025 California All-State High School Symphony Orchestra. He won first place in the 2024 GDYO Concerto Competition, among other awards, and has participated in the Idyllwild Arts Academy and Heifetz International Music Institute.
Ethan Lee
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SFS Youth Orchestra Cello
Ethan Lee is a student of Jonathan Koh and is a Co-Principal Cello of the SFSYO. He has been invited to perform for the California Music Society, the Bay Area Creative Foundation, and the Junior Bach Festival. He has attended the Aspen Music Festival and School as a scholarship recipient. As the regional director of the Back to BACH Project, he organizes performances at local elementary schools.
Claire Topper
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SFS Youth Orchestra Cello
Claire Topper is a cellist at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College, where she studies with Eric Sung, and a Co-Principal Cello of the SFSYO. She was invited to perform at the 2025 Junior Bach Festival and was selected to perform at the festival’s honors concert. She was previously a member and principal cello of the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra, with whom she toured to Europe and Japan. She has attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute’s Young Artists Orchestra Program and String Quartet Workshop.
Cara Wang
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SFS Youth Orchestra Cello
Cara Wang is a student of SF Symphony Assistant Principal Cello Amos Yang. She won the Khuner Young Artist Competition, Livermore-Amador Symphony Competition, and Korean-American Music Supporters’ Association. As a soloist, she has appeared with the Central Oregon Symphony, Castro Valley Orchestra, Symphony Parnassus, Livermore-Amador Symphony, and Prometheus Symphony.
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