THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES SUMMER SEASON WITH CONCERTS AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL AND OUTDOOR PERFORMANCES AT FROST AMPHITHEATER, SHORELINE AMPHITHEATRE, AND SIGMUND STERN GROVE, JUNE 29–AUGUST 7, 2022  

Conductors Paolo Bortolameolli, Ludovic Morlot, and Erina Yashima lead classical programs at Davies Symphony Hall with performances by pianist Inon Barnatan, cellist Johannes Moser, and string trio Time for Three 

Teddy Abrams conducts Mason Bates’ Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra 

Special guest performances by actress and singer Jessica Vosk in Get Happy: A Judy Garland Centennial Celebration; singer Isabel Marie Sánchez in a program dedicated to the music of Selena; the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus in Final Words; Broadway sensation Bernadette Peters; The Airborne Toxic Event; and Pink Martini 

Summer film concerts include The Matrix Live, Pixar in Concert, and The Goonies 

Edwin Outwater conducts the San Francisco Symphony in the Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular at Shoreline Amphitheatre 

San Francisco Symphony performs four Friday night concerts at Frost Amphitheater, presented by Stanford Live, July 8–29 

San Francisco Symphony performs a free concert at Sigmund Stern Grove with Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser conducting, July 31 

Tickets on sale now for The Matrix Live—Film with Live Orchestra, Get Happy: A Judy Garland Centennial Celebration, Final Words: SF Gay Men’s Chorus & the SF Symphony, and The Airborne Toxic Event, and all concerts at Frost Amphitheater 

Tickets for all other summer concerts on sale April 29 at 10am via sfsymphony.org/summer 

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY COLLABORATIVE PARTNER JULIA BULLOCK BRINGS HISTORY’S PERSISTENT VOICE TO DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL FOR A ONE-NIGHT-ONLY PERFORMANCE WITH MEMBERS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY, MAY 17, 2022

History’s Persistent Voice is conducted by Christian Reif and features video installations by artist Hana S. Kim

GUEST CONDUCTORS KARINA CANELLAKIS, TON KOOPMAN, RUTH REINHARDT, NATHALIE STUTZMANN, AND XIAN ZHANG LEAD THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY IN CONCERTS AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL, MAY–JUNE 2022 

May 6, 7 & 8 concerts are conducted by Xian Zhang in her Orchestral Series debut and include Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World, and SF Symphony premieres of Nokuthula Ngwenyama’s Primal Message and Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement performed by pianist Aaron Diehl, who also makes his Orchestral Series debut 

May 13–15 concerts are conducted by Karina Canellakis and include Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote featuring cellist Alisa Weilerstein, the SF Symphony premiere of Lili Boulanger’s D’un soir triste, and Witold Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra

May 20–22 concerts feature Ton Koopman leading the Orchestra in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Serenade No. 6, Serenata notturna and Symphony No. 36, Linz, plus the SF Symphony premiere of Franz Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 80

May 26–28 concerts are conducted by Nathalie Stutzmann in her Orchestral Series debut, featuring the SF Symphony and Chorus in Johannes Brahms’ Gesang der Parzen, Schicksalslied, and Nänie; and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6  

June 2–5 concerts are conducted by Ruth Reinhardt in her Orchestral Series debut and feature pianist Daniil Trifonov performing the West Coast premiere of Mason Bates' Piano Concerto—an SF Symphony co-commission; the SF Symphony premiere of Lotta Wennäkoski’s Helsinki Variations; and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 5

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY AND ESA-PEKKA SALONEN ANNOUNCE 2022–23 SEASON
 
Esa-Pekka Salonen leads 15 weeks of programming in the Bay Area and abroad in his third season as San Francisco Symphony Music Director

GUEST CONDUCTORS GIANCARLO GUERRERO, GUSTAVO DUDAMEL, AND KLAUS MÄKELÄ LEAD THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY IN CONCERTS AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL IN APRIL 2022 

April 7–9 concerts are conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero in his Orchestral Series debut and include the world premiere of John Corigliano’s Triathlon, Concerto for Saxophonist and Orchestra performed by saxophonist Timothy McAllister in his Orchestral Series debut; the SF Symphony premiere of Astor Piazzolla’s Sinfonía Buenos Aires featuring bandoneón player Daniel Binelli, also making his Orchestral Series debut; and SF Symphony premieres of Antonio Estévez’ Mediodía en el Llano and Adolphus Hailstork’s An American Port of Call

April 21–24 concerts feature Gustavo Dudamel conducting the SF Symphony in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, Prague and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5

April 28–30 concerts are conducted by Klaus Mäkelä in his Orchestral Series debut and include the SF Symphony premiere of Jimmy López Bellido’s Perú Negro, along with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, and Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto featuring Vilde Frang

BOYZ II MEN PERFORM WITH SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY AND CONDUCTOR EDWIN OUTWATER, APRIL 1 & 2, 2022

Tickets for Boyz II Men with the SF Symphony are on sale now at sfsymphony.org

DANIEL BARTHOLOMEW-POYSER LEADS TEEN NIGHT AT THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY, MARCH 26, 2022

Bay Area musician, composer, educator, and activist Kev Choice joins Bartholomew-Poyser and the Orchestra to perform his composition Movements

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY’S SPOTLIGHT SERIES HIGHLIGHTS ASCENDANT ARTISTS THROUGH FOUR DEBUT RECITALS AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL, MARCH–JUNE 2022  

March 23, pianist Drew Petersen presents a solo recital performing Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, Selected Études by Frédéric Chopin, and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata No. 2

April 13, violinist Randall Goosby is joined by pianist Zhu Wang for a program of Antonín Dvořák’s Sonatina for Violin and Piano, William Grant Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano, and Edvard Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 3

April 20, violinist Noa Wildschut and pianist Elizabeth Brauß perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Violin Sonata in E minor, K.304 (K300c), Maurice Ravel’s Violin Sonata No. 2, Joey Roukens’ Sarasvati, and Four Souvenirs for Violin and Piano by Paul Schoenfield

June 1, saxophonist Steven Banks is joined by pianist Xak Bjerken for a program including Paul Creston’s Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, Johannes Brahms’ Sonata in F minor, Op. 120, no.1 (arranged for saxophone), and Banks’ own composition, Come As You Are

MUSIC DIRECTOR ESA-PEKKA SALONEN CONDUCTS THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY IN THREE WEEKS OF CONCERTS AT DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL, FEBRUARY 24–MARCH 12

February 24, 26 & 27 concerts feature Ludwig van Beethoven’s Creatures of Prometheus with actor Keith David as narrator and original animated projections by Hillary Leben

March 3–5 concerts feature Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, the world premiere of Fang Man’s Song of the Flaming Phoenix (火凤凰的笙音) with sheng virtuoso Wu Wei, and Alexander Scriabin’s The Poem of Ecstasy

March 10–12 concerts include the SF Symphony premiere of Elizabeth Ogonek’s Sleep & Unremembrance and Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Violin Concerto,
featuring Leila Josefowicz

THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY’S 2021–22 MUSIC FOR FAMILIES SERIES KICKS OFF FEBRUARY 19 WITH “MUSIC AROUND THE WORLD—PERCUSSION” CONDUCTED BY DANIEL BARTHOLOMEW-POYSER

Music for Families continues on April 9 with “The Planets” featuring the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra conducted by Daniel Stewart and concludes on May 7 with “Superheroes” featuring Akiko Fujimoto conducting the San Francisco Symphony

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY FEBRUARY 25–26 SOUNDBOX CONCERTS CURATED BY PEKKA KUUSISTO AND JESPER NORDIN CANCELED

Pekka Kuusisto has withdrawn from the SoundBox concert due to the serious ill health of an immediate family member; the concert will be rescheduled for a future season

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY RELEASES NEW EDUCATIONAL VIDEO—MUSICAL HEROES: STORIES OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMPOSERS—EXPLORING THE HISTORY, WORK, AND IMPACT OF FLORENCE PRICE, WILLIAM GRANT STILL, AND GEORGE WALKER
 
Hosted by SF Symphony Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, Musical Heroes is a free online resource intended for middle and high school-aged students and available to schools everywhere
 
Educational resource includes hour-long video highlighted by musical performances featuring SF Symphony musicians, along with teacher resources and classroom guides
 
View Musical Heroes: Stories of African-American Composers here