San Francisco Symphony Opening Night Gala Concert
$150-$250
- Simon Keenlyside, baritone
- Kev Choice, hip-hop artist
- Anthony Veneziale, freestyle
- Hilá Plitmann, soprano
- Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Gustav Mahler — Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ("Songs of a Wayfarer")
Anders Hillborg — Rap Notes
Maurice Ravel — Boléro
Join us for a spectacular evening to celebrate the new season! Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the San Francisco Symphony in an exhilarating Opening Night Gala program that interweaves music and technology in a tapestry of heightened emotional journeys and artistic exploration. Bookending the love-sick verses of Gustav Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer, here brought to life by baritone Simon Keenlyside, are Richard Strauss's picaresque Don Juan and Maurice Ravel's hypnotic Boléro—all augmented by cutting-edge lighting and video projections created by 59 Productions. And in Anders Hillborg's Rap Notes, live rappers square off against artificial intelligence in a captivating collision of human creativity and technological prowess.
All Opening Night Gala tickets include a pre-concert lobby reception with sparkling wine and light bites. Gala Dinner packages include two dinner options–the seated Pavilion Dinner featuring a curated dining and music experience, and the lounge-style Symphony Supper Club with mingling, specialty bites, drinks, and performance.
Proceeds from the Gala directly support the Symphony's acclaimed education, community, and artistic programs serving more than 75,000 people each year. Your gift makes it possible for us to feature vibrant programming and talent from around the world on our stage; inspire thousands of young people through music education programs with San Francisco Unified School District; and to enrich life in the Bay Area through our community outreach programs.
About Simon Keenlyside, baritone
About Kev Choice, hip-hop artist
About Anthony Veneziale, freestyle
About Hilá Plitmann, soprano
About Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Esa-Pekka Salonen is known as both a composer and conductor. He is currently the Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, where he works alongside eight Collaborative Partners from a variety of disciplines ranging from composers to roboticists. He is Conductor Laureate for London's Philharmonia Orchestra, where, as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor from 2008 until 2021, he spearheaded digital projects such as the award-winning RE-RITE and Universe of Sound installations and the much-hailed app for iPad, The Orchestra; the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where he was Music Director from 1992 until 2009, and was instrumental in opening the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall; and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He is the cofounder – and until 2018 served as Artistic Director – of the annual Baltic Sea Festival.
https://www.esapekkasalonen.com/