SFS: Preparing for the Opening Gala

Conductor Jaap van Zweden (photograph by Simon van Boxtel, courtesy of SFS)

Having accounted for the “concert” dates in the Summer with the Symphony programs to be presented by the San Francisco Symphony (SFS), I suspect that at least some readers are beginning to think about the coming season. (Some of them have probably already purchased subscriptions.) The new season will begin “officially” on Friday, September 12, in Davies Symphony Hall. The conductor for this occasion will be Jaap van Zweden. Pianist Yuja Wang, who has been a regular visitor to Davies, will be the soloist in a performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Opus 23, his first piano concerto, composed in the key of B-flat minor. The program will begin with “Short Ride in a Fast Machine” by the Bay Area’s own composer, John Adams. The final work on the program will be Ottorino Respighi’s “Pines of Rome.” In other words, this is the sort of program that will, as some would say, crank the volume up to eleven!

Single tickets will not go on sale until this Thursday, June 19, at noon. However, those interested in donating to SFS have the option of sponsoring the full-evening Opening Gala. This will begin in Davies at 5:30 p.m. with Silver Receptions in the Wattis Room and the Loge Lobby. The concert will then be followed with a Gala Dinner in the Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall beginning at 8:30 p.m. Individual sponsorships are available for $2500 ($1853 tax deductible), $5000 ($4353 tax deductible), and $10,000 ($9353 tax deductible). There are also “Table” sponsorships, which accommodate ten guests. Those sponsorships are available for between $15,000 and $100,000. Sponsors will also enjoy the benefit of complementary parking. A Web page has been created with further details and hyperlinks for purchasing the available options.