Cynthia Erivo & More to be Featured in San Francisco Symphony September Programming

September marks the start of the San Francisco Symphony's 2024–25 season and features several special concerts and events celebrating the new season.

Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony kick off the season with five programs, including the Opening Gala with Lang Lang and Gina Alice on September 25, the Orchestra's annual All San Francisco Concert on September 12, a special performance with Broadway and film star Cynthia Erivo on September 14, and the first two Orchestral Series programs of the season: Verdi's Requiem with the SF Symphony Chorus and soloists, September 19–21, and Nico Muhly's new Piano Concerto, September 27–28.  

September 5–8, composer Joe Hisaishi joins the San Francisco Symphony to conduct four sold-out performances of his music from the Studio Ghibli films of Hayao Miyazaki. On September 29, SF Symphony musicians perform their first chamber music concert of the 2024–25 season in Davies Symphony Hall. 

San Francisco Symphony Orchestral Series

September 19–21: Salonen Conducts Verdi's Requiem

Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen, the San Francisco Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus open the 2024–25 Orchestral Series September 19–21 with Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem, a dramatic and deeply-felt setting of the Catholic funeral mass. These performances feature soprano Leah Hawkins, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, tenor Mario Chang, and bass Eric Owens. 

To open the program, San Francisco Symphony Chorus Director Jenny Wong conducts the San Francisco Symphony's first performances of three short works for chorus and orchestra by Gordon Getty, a longtime friend of the Symphony: St. Christopher; the Intermezzo from Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Getty's 2021 opera based on James Hilton's classic novella; and The Old Man in the Snow, featuring a poem by Getty. 

September 27–28: Salonen Conducts Nico Muhly

Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony are joined by pianist Alexandre Tharaud in his Orchestral Series debut September 27–28, performing the world premiere of Nico Muhly's Baroque-inspired Piano Concerto (a San Francisco Symphony commission). “The concerto is lightly haunted by the ghost of Rameau in the first movement in an explicitly harmonic way, and then the second and third movements take as their jumping-off point Rameau's titles, indicating a focus on technical aspects of music-making (Les Triolets), everyday life (Les Tricotets), and more abstract, character pieces (L'indiscrette),” said Muhly. 

The program features three additional works that draw inspiration from an earlier time: Paul Hindemith's raucous Ragtime (Well-Tempered), based on a theme of J. S. Bach; Elgar's transcription of Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 537; and Hindemith's Symphony, Mathis der Maler, based on the life of 16th-century artist Matthias Grünewald.

San Francisco Symphony Special Events & Guest Stars

September 12: All San Francisco Concert

On September 12, Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the San Francisco Symphony in the Orchestra's annual All San Francisco Concert. The concert highlights Principal Harp Katherine Siochi, in her solo debut with the Symphony, performing Debussy's Danses sacrée et danse profane. The program also includes Sibelius' Karelia Suite, Grieg's much-loved Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, and Ravel's vivid Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2. The All San Francisco Concert is a 45-year-strong tradition celebrating the people who work tirelessly to make the Bay Area a more just and equitable place. This special San Francisco Symphony program is offered at a subsidized ticket price of $12 for Bay Area nonprofit, social services, and grassroots organizations. Founded by native San Franciscan, veteran philanthropist, and patron of the arts Ellen Magnin Newman, and led by an advisory committee of nonprofit and community leaders, the All San Francisco Concert is an important pillar of the San Francisco Symphony's ongoing work to make the Symphony an accessible, welcoming space for all Bay Area residents, regardless of income. A limited number of $12 tickets are currently available for purchase by the general public at sfsymphony.org/allsf.  

In honor of its founder, the All San Francisco Concert also includes the presentation of the Ellen Magnin Newman Award. Recipients of the award are celebrated at the All San Francisco Concert and receive a Symphony concert series subscription for two as well as a cash grant. This year's recipient of the Ellen Magnin Newman Award is Brava! for Women in the Arts. 

September 14: Cynthia Erivo with the San Francisco Symphony

London-born Broadway and film actress and singer Cynthia Erivo joins Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony in concert at Davies Symphony Hall on September 14. Erivo will perform songs by legendary women who have shown her the way, including Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Shirley Bassey, and Billie Holiday. Salonen and the Orchestra will open each half of the program with works by acclaimed American composer, violinist, and educator Jessie Montgomery: Starburst, arranged by Jannina Norpoth, and Strum for String Orchestra. This concert marks Erivo's first performance with the San Francisco Symphony. 

September 25: Opening Gala with Lang Lang 

Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony celebrate the start of the 2024–25 season with the Opening Gala on September 25 in an exhilarating program featuring superstar pianist Lang Lang performing Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2. Lang Lang also performs alongside his wife, pianist Gina Alice, in Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals, a lighthearted 14-movement piece highlighting different animals such as the lion, elephant, and swan. Salonen and the Orchestra perform selections from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet throughout the Opening Gala program, including “Montagues and Capulets,” “Morning Dance,” “The Child Juliet,” and “Death of Tybalt.” Patrons can reserve a VIP sponsorship package, including an exclusive preconcert cocktail reception and postconcert seated dinner experience. Proceeds from the Gala directly support the Symphony's acclaimed education, community, and artistic programs, which serve tens of thousands throughout the Bay Area each year. 

 

Read more about the Opening Gala. 

San Francisco Symphony Film Series

September 5–8: Joe Hisaishi Symphonic Concert: Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki

Composer Joe Hisaishi joins the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Symphony Chorus to conduct his music from Studio Ghibli films by Hayao Miyazaki live-to-picture, accompanied by favorite scenes. Hisaishi is a prolific composer and has released more than 40 solo albums and written music for more than 80 film scores. He has composed scores for ten of Hayao Miyazaki's films, including Spirited Away, The Boy and the Heron, and My Neighbor Totoro. 

These concerts are sold out. Limited numbers of returned tickets may become available; check sfsymphony.org for current information. 

Chamber Music Series

September 29: Chamber Series at Davies Symphony Hall  

The San Francisco Symphony's 2024–25 Chamber Music Series at Davies Symphony Hall kicks off Sunday, September 29, in the first of six performances throughout the season. The September 29 program includes Kinan Azmeh's Café Damas for Violin, Viola, and Bass; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Quintet for Piano and Winds, K.452; Florent Schmitt's Sonatine en Trio for Flute, Clarinet, and Piano; and Robert Schumann's Piano Quartet, Opus 47. The San Francisco Symphony's Chamber Music concerts are programmed and performed by Symphony musicians. 

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