Next month is when the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) goes “all in” for the “holiday spirit.” While there are any number of holidays being celebrated by different faiths and communities during the month of December, the prevailing theme in Davies Symphony Hall tends towards Christmas, beginning with the decor in the lobby! While there are any number “popular” offerings that will be taking place in Davies Symphony Hall between December 2 and December 21, there are two concert offerings that make an annual appearance.
The first of these is the annual SFS performance of George Frideric Handel’s HWV 56 oratorio, better known by its title, Messiah. As usual, Jenny Wong will lead the SFS Chorus; but all the vocal soloists will be making Orchestra Series Debut performances. They will be Amanda Forsythe (soprano), John Holiday (countertenor), Aaron Sheehan (tenor), and Douglas Williams (baritone). The conductor will be Stephen Stubbs, who will also be making his debut.
Messiah will be given two performances, both beginning at 7:30 p.m., on Friday, December 6, and Saturday, December 7. Ticket prices range from $30 to $199. The hyperlinks attached to the above dates may be used for online purchase. Tickets may also be purchased by calling 415-864-6000 or by visiting the Box Office in Davies Symphony Hall, whose entrance is on the south side of Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street. The Box Office is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Wattis Foundation Music Director Radu Paponiu (from the event page for next month’s SFS Youth Orchestra performance)
The other major concert offering for the season will be the annual performance by the SFS Youth Orchestra of Sergei Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf.” This will be an “ecumenical” program, which will include the traditional Hanukkah song “Mis Zeh Hidik” (behold the lights) in an arrangement by Jeff Tyzik; and the program will conclude with a “sing-along” of traditional Christmas carols. There will also be selections from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, which will be framed by two secular offerings, the seventh piece in Antonín Dvořák’s Opus 72 Slavonic Dances collection, and Johann Strauss II’s Opus 324, the polka given the title “Unter Donner und Blitz” (thunder and lightning). The conductor will be Wattis Foundation Music Director Radu Paponiu.
For this program, which will be given only one performance at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 15, ticket prices will range from $15 to $199; and a Web page is again available for online purchase.
