Jennifer Holliday & More to Perform With The San Francisco Symphony This Holiday Season

The San Francisco Symphony’s 2024 holiday season, December 1–21, will feature a festive lineup of programs, including performances of traditional Christmas classical music, family-friendly events, high-flying performances, holiday film presentations, and a star-studded lineup of guest artists. Throughout December, the lobbies of Davies Symphony Hall are transformed into a cheerful holiday wonderland, complete with towering trees decorated with handmade ornaments made by children and volunteers from local schools and nonprofit community organizations.

A Merry-Achi Christmas (December 1)

On December 1, Mariachi Sol de México® de José Hernández returns to Davies Symphony Hall to kick off the holidays with a festive musical tribute to Mexico’s Christmas traditions, performing Mexican and American holiday favorites in A Merry-Achi Christmas. The San Francisco Symphony does not appear in this performance. 

Holiday Cirque (December 2) 

On December 2, Los Angeles-based theatrical circus company Troupe Vertigo and conductor Ming Luke join the San Francisco Symphony for an awe-inspiring, family-friendly Holiday Cirque performance. Troupe Vertigo’s acrobats, jugglers, and high-flying aerialists take to the stage—and above it—for a gravity-defying performance of circus feats.  

The Colors of Christmas (December 3–4) 

On December 3–4, The Colors of Christmas returns to Davies Symphony Hall for two evenings of pop hits and holiday favorites performed by vocalists Peabo Bryson, Jackie Evancho, Jennifer Holliday, and BeBe Winans with Pastor Jeffrey Williams and the Bay Area Super Choir. Gail Deadrick conducts the program. The Colors of Christmas was a holiday staple from 1993 to 2015 and made a welcome return to the San Francisco Symphony’s winter schedule in 2022.  

Handel’s Messiah (December 6–7) 

On December 6–7, conductor Stephen Stubbs leads the San Francisco Symphony and Chorus in performances of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, featuring soprano Amanda Forsythe, countertenor John Holiday, tenor Aaron Sheehan, and baritone Douglas Williams. Stubbs and all four vocal soloists make their Orchestral Series debuts with these performances. Handel’s Messiah was an instant classic soon after its 1742 premiere and has been a holiday tradition around the world ever since. Through a dramatic series of arias, recitatives, and choruses, Handel offers a musical meditation on Christ’s birth, life, and resurrection—and his message of redemption. 

Deck the Hall (December 8)

Deck the Hall, a beloved family holiday tradition, brings the festive spirit to Davies Symphony Hall with two kid-friendly matinee performances on December 8 at 11:00am and 3:00pm. Conducted by the San Francisco Symphony’s Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, this annual holiday children’s concert and celebration features an array of musical performances from Symphony musicians and special guests. This year, the one-hour program highlights the talented young singers of the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the Young Women’s Choral Projects of San Francisco in holiday classics, and features students from the San Francisco Ballet Training Program in selections from Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Also joining the Symphony for Deck the Hall is a quartet from the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, performing “Joy to the World”; klezmer ensemble Kugelplex; and members of the theatrical circus company Troupe Vertigo. The concert ends with a holiday sing-along complete with costumed characters.  

To make the experience even more memorable, guests can purchase a VIP Package that includes premium concert seating, a preconcert VIP celebration, and other perks. Deck the Hall is chaired by Jessica Pascolini and planned with the help of the San Francisco Symphony Junior Committee League, led by Junior Committee President Rachel Fishman. Proceeds from this event support Deck the Hall Community Day, which takes place this year on December 9 and invites 3,500 children from public programs to this holiday concert free of charge, providing many of them with their first opportunity to visit a concert hall and hear a live orchestral performance. Proceeds provide additional support for the Symphony’s many artistic, education, and community programs. 

The Louise M. Davies Foundation is Deck the Hall’s Presenting Partner. Bank of America is Supporting Partner. Hannah & Bianca–The J.C. Kellogg Foundation and the Levchin Family are Community Impact Partners.  

Holiday Brass (December 11) 

On December 11, members of the San Francisco Symphony brass, percussion, and timpani sections, conducted by Edwin Outwater, present a festive mix of classical and popular holiday selections in Holiday Brass. 

Holiday films: The Muppet Christmas Carol—In Concert (December 12 & 14) and Elf—In Concert (December 19–21) 

The holiday season includes screenings of two holiday-inspired films, featuring the San Francisco Symphony performing the scores live to picture as the films are projected onto a large screen above the stage. On December 12 & 14, conductor Susie Benchasil Seiter and the San Francisco Symphony perform Brian Henson’s The Muppet Christmas Carol—a magical setting of Charles Dickens’ classic tale—featuring Miles Goodman’s score performed alongside the film. Michael Caine stars as penny-pinching Ebenezer Scrooge alongside The Muppets. 

On December 19–21, John Debney conducts the San Francisco Symphony in his own score to Elf alongside Jon Favreau’s charming film. Debney has written the scores for countless films, including Hocus Pocus, Iron Man 2, The Jungle Book, The Greatest Showman, and The Passion of the Christ, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score. 

Holiday Gaiety with Peaches Christ & Edwin Outwater (December 13) 

On December 13, the SF Symphony presents Holiday Gaiety—a festive holiday variety show co-emceed by conductor Edwin Outwater and San Francisco drag sensation Peaches Christ. The adult-themed program features a star-studded lineup including drag performers Lady Camden and Latrice Royale from RuPaul’s Drag Race; San Francisco-based drag performer Kylie Minono; drag artist Sister Roma from The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence; vocalist Alex Newell (Glee, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist); mezzo-soprano and aerialist Nikola Printz; and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. Please be advised this show may contain adult content and explicit language. 

SF Symphony Youth Orchestra performs Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf (December 15) 
On December 15, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra presents its annual performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s timeless musical fable Peter and the Wolf, conducted by Radu Paponiu, Wattis Foundation Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, and featuring a special guest narrator to be announced. The program opens with Antonin Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance in C major, Opus 72, no.7, followed by selections from Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and the traditional Hanukkah song Mis Zeh Hidlik. After Peter and the Wolf, Paponiu and the Youth Orchestra invite the audience to join them in a festive sing-along of popular holiday carols. 

The Youth Orchestra’s performance of Peter and the Wolf is an annual holiday favorite and has been a regular part of the Orchestra’s season since 1985. Past narrators have included Richard Dreyfuss, John Lithgow, Bobby McFerrin, Rita Moreno, Kathy Najimy, Linda Ronstadt, Sharon Stone, W. Kamau Bell, SF Symphony Music Director Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas, and the late Leonard Nimoy and Robin Williams, among many other lauded actors, comedians, musicians, and public figures.    

Holidays with Boyz II Men and the SF Symphony (December 17–18) 
Legendary Grammy Award-winning group Boyz II Men joins conductor Edwin Outwater and the San Francisco Symphony for two special holiday performances, December 17–18. Boyz II Men will perform holiday favorites as well as some of their most-loved hits, including “End of the Road” and “Motownphilly” with the Orchestra. The iconic group returns to Davies Symphony Hall following their debut with Outwater and the San Francisco Symphony in two performances in April 2022.  

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