San Francisco Symphony Adds Updates, Guest Appearances, to Summer Concert Series

The San Francisco Symphony announces new updates to its annual Summer with the Symphony series, which runs July 4-29at Davies Symphony Hall and at other outdoor locations throughout the Bay Area. Led by Director of Summer Concerts Edwin Outwater, Summer with the Symphony features a festive lineup of concerts and events for all ages.

Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the FINAL FANTASY video game franchise, will make a special guest appearance in a pre-concert talk about his groundbreaking work in the role-playing game (RPG) genre; and speak at the beginning of the SF Symphony's performance of Final Symphony: Music from FINAL FANTASY VI, VII, and X on Wednesday, July 27. Conductor Eckehard Stier and pianist Katharina Treutler premiered the concert arrangement in Germany in 2013. It was recorded by the London Symphony in 2015, and reached the number one spot on the iTunes Classical Charts in more than ten countries and entered the Classical Album Top 5 of both the Billboard Charts and the Official UK Charts. Sakaguchi's FINAL FANTASY series is a staple in the RPG genre, and has sold more than 100 million units world-wide. In 2004, he founded Mistwalker, which has developed beloved titles such as Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, and The Last Story. In May of 2005, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. Sakaguchi explored a new genre with his critically acclaimed hit, Terra Battle, a Mistwalker original RPG on the Smartphone. The game has been a great success, with over 2.5 million downloads worldwide. FINAL FANTASY is a registered trademark or trademark of Square Enix Group Co., Ltd.

Violinist Alina Ming Kobialka has been announced as soloist in "Theme from Schindler's List" in The Music of John Williams-From Star Wars to Harry Potter on Thursday, July 7. The 18-year-old Kobialka is an alumna of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra and made her debut with the San Francisco Symphony in 2014. She has recently made professional debuts with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, the California Symphony, the Kagawa International Intercultural Youth Orchestra in Japan, and others. Edwin Outwater leads the SFS in Williams's iconic music from such films as Star Wars, Harry Potter,Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Jaws, and others.

Summer with the Symphony begins with the SFS's annual Fourth of July concert and fireworks spectacular at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. Summer film events begin with a 50th anniversary celebration entitled Star Trek - The Ultimate Voyage, July 14-15. The event features some of the franchise's greatest music, including favorites from The Original Series, The Motion Picture, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and more, with excerpts projected on a large movie screen above the orchestra. On July 16-17, the SFS provides live accompaniment of Michael Giacchino's award-winning score to Pixar's Ratatouille, with Sarah Hicks conducting. Other summer highlights include musical group Pink Martini with Storm Large in two concerts with the Orchestra, July 28-29.

Classical performances during the summer season include Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on July 8-9, a Parisian-themed concert with singer/songwriter/guitarist Madeleine Peyroux July 21, an evening of Russian favorites July 22, and an American classics performance with pianist Makoto Ozone July 23. The Orchestra performs two free concerts this year, first at the Stern Grove Festival on July 10, featuring Dvo?ák's Symphony No. 9, From the New World, and at the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal at Pier 27 on July 24, also with pianist Makoto Ozone performing Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3.

About Edwin Outwater
San Francisco Symphony Director of Summer Concerts Edwin Outwater is the Music Director of Ontario's Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) in Canada and regularly guest conducts the Chicago and New World Symphonies. In the United States, Outwater has also conducted the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Houston, Detroit, Seattle, and many others. International appearances include the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, New Zealand Symphony, and Adelaide Symphony. He participated as Associate Conductor in both YouTube Symphony projects, at Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House. Outwater was Resident Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony from 2001-2006, where he worked closely with Michael Tilson Thomas, accompanied the orchestra on tour, and conducted numerous concerts each season. He made his subscription debut in 2002 with Kurt Masur conducting Britten's War Requiem, and has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Evelyn Glennie, and many others. On two occasions, Outwater stepped in for Michael Tilson Thomas, conducting performances of Stravinsky's complete Pulcinella, as well as works by Beethoven, Wagner, and Cherubini. In July 2006, Outwater conducted the world premiere performance and recording of The Composer is Dead by Nathaniel Stookey and Lemony Snicket, which was later released by HarperCollins. From 2001-05, Outwater was Wattis Foundation Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. During his tenure, he led the orchestra in all of their concerts as well as on tour through Europe in summer 2004, when the orchestra made its debut at Vienna's Musikverein and Paris's Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Outwater was recently named Artistic Director and Conductor of the Eastern Sierra Symphony in Mammoth Lakes, California.

Tickets
NEW for the 2016 Summer with the Symphony season: concertgoers who purchase tickets to three or more performances will receive 25% off their entire order.

Tickets are on sale for Summer with the Symphony concerts at www.sfsymphony.org/summer, SFS Patron Services at (415) 864-6000, and at the Davies Symphony Hall box office on Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street. Tickets are priced from $15-$140. For the Ratatouille performances, tickets are half-price for children ages 18 and under with the purchase of a full-price adult ticket.

Tickets for the Fourth of July Celebration at Shoreline Amphitheatre are on sale through LiveNation.com.

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