In This Program
San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
Welcome
Featured image from left: Yvette Kraft (first violin, Isaac Stern Chair), James Button (Associate Principal Oboe),
Olivia Chen (second violin, The Eucalyptus Foundation Second Century Chair)
We’re thrilled to share a vibrant summer season of exciting performances, unforgettable guest artists, and favorite films with live orchestra.
Summer begins at Davies Symphony Hall with a classical program featuring Mendelssohn’s Reformation Symphony and Bruch’s First Violin Concerto, led by debuting conductor Chloé Van Soeterstède with violinist Paul Huang. Conductor Nicolas Ellis also makes his Symphony debut this summer, leading Shakespeare-inspired works by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky, with violinist Geneva Lewis featured in music by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Franz Waxman.
Film lovers can relive the excitement of young love with the original 1961 West Side Story, featuring songs by Leonard Bernstein, while Danny DeVito joins the Symphony to narrate his film Matilda live. And a James Bond program showcases vocalist Lena Hall in hits spanning more than 60 years of 007 films.
There’s even more to discover: A.R. Rahman joins the Symphony for a night of his electrifying music. Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara team up with the Symphony for songs and stories. St. Vincent and Andrew Bird also bring their eclectic catalogues to Davies Symphony Hall for symphonic performances with the Orchestra.
We also look forward to our annual outdoor concerts at Stern Grove Festival, Shoreline Amphitheatre, and Stanford University’s Frost Amphitheater.
Thank you for joining us for Summer with the Symphony. We can’t wait to share the music, the memories, and the magic with you!
Be a part of the San Francisco Symphony’s 2026–27 season. Single tickets to our full range of concerts, including Holidays with the Symphony, go on sale July 18. Visit sfsymphony.org/2026-27 for more information.
2026–27 Season: Music Connects
The San Francisco Symphony’s 2026–27 season brings together renowned guest artists, visually imaginative productions, and programs that explore themes of spirituality, myth, and nature.
Kicking off the season, jazz singer Samara Joy, folk musician Gregory Alan Isakov, and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Fantastic Negrito each join the San Francisco Symphony for one-night-only performances. Violinist Hilary Hahn headlines the Opening Gala, while acclaimed composer and conductor Joe Hisaishi unveils his new Concerto for Orchestra. Other celebrated artists lighting up the Davies Symphony Hall stage include violinists Ray Chen, Joshua Bell, and Itzhak Perlman; pianists Seong-Jin Cho, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Hélène Grimaud, and Yuja Wang; and soprano Renée Fleming.
John Adams, Elim Chan, Gabriella Smith
Elim Chan, San Francisco Symphony Music Director Designate, returns to conduct the first Symphony performances of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic Symphony, alongside choral works of Brahms and Arvo Pärt with the SF Symphony Chorus and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with Renaud Capuçon.
In addition to Chan’s program, the Orchestra celebrates Adams’s 80th birthday with SF Symphony premieres of The Dharma at Big Sur, featuring photography and video by Deborah O’Grady, and The Rock You Stand On led by Marin Alsop.
Composer, conservationist, and Berkeley native Gabriella Smith steps into the role of Creative Partner, with performances of the SF Symphony-commissioned violin concerto, How to Be a Bird, the tone poem Tumblebird Contrails, and Tidalwave Kitchen with the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra. Additional activities include an ecologically themed day of service and a partnership with the Gardens of Golden Gate Park.
Continuing a series of recent collaborations with the San Francisco Symphony, Alonzo King LINES Ballet brings new choreography to works of Debussy and Copland. Stravinsky’s The Firebird arrives in a striking production by director Janni Younge, featuring larger-than-life puppets and African dance forms.
Three San Francisco Symphony musicians take center stage as soloists: Principal Cello Rainer Eudeikis (Philip Boone Chair) performs Prokofiev’s Sinfonia concertante, and Principal Harp Katherine Siochi and Principal Percussion Jacob Nissly give the world premiere of an SF Symphony-commissioned concerto by René Orth in a program conducted by former Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen. The remarkable Herbert Blomstedt, Conductor Laureate, returns to kick off his centenary season.
Film offerings in 2026–27 include Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Avatar, the silent classic Metropolis, and family favorites including Hook and Disney and Pixar’s UP.
View the full season at sfsymphony.org/2026-27.
Community Connections
Tenderloin Museum
For more than a decade, Tenderloin Museum has preserved and celebrated the rich character and history of San Francisco’s most important and misunderstood neighborhood. The 31 blocks of the Tenderloin district are the beating heart of the city, populated by immigrants and iconoclasts, artists and activists, sinners and saints. This vibrant community has shaped the soul of San Francisco in ways that are still felt today, from its role in the LGBTQ+ rights movement to its legacy as a hub of counterculture and creative expression.
Visit the Tenderloin Museum from 10:00am to 5:00pm, Tuesdays through Saturdays, and encounter a kaleidoscopic American city in all its grit and glory. The museum’s dynamic public programming includes weekly walking tours, art exhibitions, film screenings, live music, lectures, and much more. It offers educational resources and community events designed to connect visitors with the living history of this extraordinary neighborhood. Also of note is the critically acclaimed immersive theatrical production, The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, now in its second season.
For more information, visit tenderloinmuseum.org.
The San Francisco Symphony thrives on collaboration, and we’re proud to work with the most creative, innovative groups and individuals shaping the Bay Area today.
