Stern Grove Festival Celebrates 75th Anniversary Season, Now thru 8/26

Stern Grove Festival, the longest running admission-free outdoor music festival in the country, celebrates its 75th anniversary season today, June 24 – August 26, 2012. A beloved San Francisco summer tradition in a magnificent natural setting as only California can provide, Stern Grove Festival offers the Bay Area an opportunity to experience world class concerts by well-known performers as well as emerging innovative artists

For 750 Sundays, music and dance has fillEd Stern Grove. The inaugural season began on July 10th, 1938, and included two performances by the San Francisco Symphony. Stern Grove Festival has evolved into an intrinsic member of San Francisco's arts community and today presents a season as diverse as the city it calls home. The San Francisco Symphony, which performed the first-ever concert at the Grove, will perform Beethoven's triumphant Symphony No. 9 led by Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas with members of the SFS Chorus and soloists as the orchestra celebrates its centennial season. To mark this milestone, KDFC will broadcast this July 8 concert live, further underscoring how performances at Stern Grove Festival are truly accessible to everyone.

The histories of Stern Grove and the San Francisco Symphony have been linked since June 19, 1932, when the sounds of Wagner's Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg burst through the concert meadow as sixty members of the San Francisco Symphony performed the inaugural concert at Stern Grove. This was a benefit performance organized by Symphony Board Member Rosalie Meyer Stern to support musicians of the orchestra her husband Sigmund helped found in 1911.

HOT NEW MUSIC AT STERN GROVE

In keeping with the Festival's mission "to serve diverse audiences by presenting a season of varied musical and performance genres and artists," this season will conclude with a performance by the popular contemporary Indie Rock Band, OK Go. OK Go have been called "the first post-internet band" and are at the forefront of an emerging class of independent creative entrepreneurs making art in both digital and physical spaces. OK Go's self-directed videos have been viewed over 150 million times on YouTube. Their recent projects include an interactive video made with the Pilobolus dance company, a live album chronicling the 180 concerts they played in 2010, performances at Glastonbury and Lollapalooza, and collaboration with The Muppets. They have been nominated for a 2012 Grammy for their interactive video with Pilobolous for the song, "All Is Not Lost." Damian Kulash, lead singer, has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, and testified before the U.S. Congress in support of net neutrality. The show performed by this hot band is a perfect fit for the "party" atmosphere patrons enjoy at Stern Grove Festival.

To mark this milestone birthday, Stern Grove Festival will inaugurate a new tradition - The Big Picnic, An Opening Day Benefit and Concert to kick off the summer season. Details on The Big Picnic, the headliner for Opening Day Concert, as well as the rest of the artists performing this season will be announced at a later date.

The 75th Anniversary Season of Stern Grove Festival is presented by Target Corp. This grant is part of ongoing efforts by Target to strengthen families and communities throughout the country by providing free access to the arts. "We're proud to partner with Stern Grove Festival as part of our ongoing commitment to strengthen communities where our guests and team members live and work," said Laysha Ward, President, Community Relations, Target.

STERN GROVE'S LEGACY

Douglas E. Goldman, Chairman of the Board for Stern Grove Festival Association enthused: "75 years ago, my great-grandmother-Rosalie Meyer Stern-had an idea. Present admission-free concerts in the beautiful meadow that she had donated to her beloved City seven years earlier. Today, that concert series has grown into being an integral part of the fabric of our community-an opportunity that represents and upholds the best of the diversity and quality that the Bay Area represents. What a gift! What a dream fulfilled!"

"This anniversary is a huge milestone for Stern Grove Festival, as well as the entire City of San Francisco," observed Steven Haines, Executive Director of Stern Grove Festival. "For 75 years, symphonic music, opera, ballet, jazz, pop and global music have had a home at Stern Grove Festival. We created a unique venue for the arts in a beautiful natural setting where some of the world's greatest performers have taken stage. When Rosalie Meyer Stern first saw the Grove she imagined how the people of San Francisco would enjoy it. The Festival Association's Board of Directors, now led by Douglas E. Goldman, remains committed to the original vision, ensuring that her legacy will flourish for future generations. Stern Grove Festival is more than a performance venue, admission free concerts and the finest of cultural arts-it is a social, community gathering place, and has been for 75 years."

Every summer, more than 100,000 people make Stern Grove Festival part of their summer tradition. In 1931, Rosalie Meyer Stern purchased the Grove and gifted it to the City of San Francisco, in memory of her husband Sigmund on the condition that the park would be used to offer admission-free arts and cultural performances. In 1938 Mrs. Stern formed the non-profit Stern Grove Festival Association. For the past 75, years Stern Grove Festival has provided access for the arts to all San Franciscans and visitors to the Bay Area, and provided a platform for the development of other local arts organizations and artists. The Festival continues to enhance San Francisco's reputation as a leading cultural destination by hosting some of the world's greatest artists. Its annual 10-week series showcases the San Francisco Symphony, Ballet and Opera, and such notable international performers as Diana Krall, Miriam Makeba, Aaron Neville, Femi-Kuti, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, Janis Ian, Mavis Staples, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Roberta Flack, Joan Baez, and so many more.

Stern Grove Festival is truly more than just a Festival-it is a gathering place, a park, natural amphitheater and center of the community. More than just a cultural institution, Stern Grove Festival is family, heritage and history.

STERN GROVE'S SIGNIFICANCE TO SAN FRANCISCO

"San Francisco has always been the home of world-class arts and cultural events that have been integral to the dynamic life of our City, and the Stern Grove Festival is a particularly special jewel in our diverse cultural landscape," said Mayor Ed Lee. "For the last 75 years, Stern Grove Festival has presented a broad range of music and dance programs that have been an important family tradition and has created memorable experiences for generations of San Franciscans."

"I am delighted to join in the congratulations to Stern Grove Festival as they celebrate their 75th Anniversary," said Kary Schulman, Director San Francisco Grants for the Arts. "Our chief goal is to promote the widest possible variety of San Francisco's arts and cultural activities to residents and visitors alike. The Festival enhances San Francisco's reputation as an international cultural destination by presenting the highest caliber artists in their beautiful outdoor concert venue. And, miraculously, they have managed to keep these performances admission free for everyone."

In addition to Target Corp as presenting sponsor, Stern Grove Festival is presented in collaboration with the San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department and Commission.

More information online Stern Grove Festival, on Facebook or by calling (415) 252-6252

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