San Francisco Symphony
Overview
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
based in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall
Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall
Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, the concert hall component of the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, was built in 1980 at a cost of US$28 million to give the San Francisco Symphony a permanent home. The hall has a seating capacity of 2743 persons...
. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus
San Francisco Symphony Chorus
The San Francisco Symphony Chorus is the resident chorus of the San Francisco Symphony .-Background:Established in 1972 at the request of Seiji Ozawa, then the San Francisco Symphony's music director, the chorus first performed in the 1973-74 Symphony season. the SFS Chorus today gives a minimum of...
are part of the organization. Its current music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
is Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
, who has held the position since September 1995.
The orchestra has long been an integral part of city life and culture in San Francisco. Its first concerts were led by conductor composer Henry Hadley, who led the Seattle Symphony Orchestra from 1909 to 1911.
