The San Francisco Symphony announced plans for its 2018-2019 season today, including diverse programming that engages with social and environmental issues, pop culture, and new media — plus reinterpretations of symphonic masterworks, guest artists and more.
This season, which kicks off Sept. 5, will be the orchestra’s 107th, as well as renowned music director Michael Tilson Thomas’s (MTT’s) 24th year with the symphony before his planned departure in 2020.
Among events to look forward to this season is a two-week Stravinsky festival, beginning Sept. 21, highlighting the composer’s groundbreaking works for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. From Sept. 13-16, the symphony collaborates with the San Francisco Asia Society for its photography exhibit, COAL + ICE, which documents the effects of fossil fuels; the symphony will perform Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, as well as a newly commissioned spoken word works and video projections from COAL + ICE.
From Nov. 15-18, the San Francisco Symphony performs MTT’s original work From the Diary of Anne Frank to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This season also sees the return of the orchestra’s film series, with the San Francisco Symphony performing the score to classic movies live while a film is projected above the stage. Selections include Jurassic Park, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Mary Poppins. The wildly popular Soundbox series, an intimate concert experience that evokes a nightclub, is back for a fifth season.
More information and a full schedule of events can be found on the San Francisco Symphony’s website.
