SF Symphony Will Present LUNAR NEW YEAR: YEAR OF THE HORSE at Davies Hall

The San Francisco Symphony will celebrate the Year of the Horse with the Lunar New Year concert and banquet on Saturday, February 28 at Davies Symphony Hall. Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, is the most important holiday for many cultures in East, South, and Southeast Asia, and is celebrated by people of Asian descent worldwide.

This year's celebration is an elegant commemoration of the Lunar New Year, drawing upon vibrant Asian traditions, past and present. 

Conductor Mei-Ann Chen and the Orchestra perform works by Asian composers  including Chen Ge Xin, Tyzen Hsiao, An-Lun Huang, Che-Yi Lee, and Huan-Zhi Li with guest  appearances by SF Symphony Second Clarinet Yuhsin Galaxy Su, who performs Che-Yi Lee's  arrangement of Liu Chia-Chang's Alone Ascending the West Chamber, and erhu player George Gao  who plays his original work Capriccio No. 6, “Shaoyin.” 

The celebration begins at 4:00pm with preconcert lobby festivities open to all ticketholders, featuring an array of entertainment and activities, such as lion dancers, fortune readers, art making, and cultural performances. 

Chen and the Orchestra open the 5:00pm Lunar New Year concert with Huan-Zhi Li's energetic and popular Chinese orchestral work Spring Festival Overture and “Wishing You Prosperity,” an uplifting traditional song arranged by Y.T. Phoon. Making her solo debut with the Orchestra, SF Symphony Second Clarinet Yuhsin Galaxy Su performs Che-Yi Lee's arrangement of Liu Chia-Chang's Alone Ascending the West Chamber, popularized by iconic Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng in the 1980s. The program continues with music from Che-Yi Lee's virtuosic Dancing Strings and 

Tyzen Hsiao's The Angel from Formosa, a piece that evokes the rural beauty of Hsiao's home country of Taiwan. Chen also conducts Huang Ruo's Flower Drum Song from Feng Yang from Folk Songs for Orchestra, originally commissioned and premiered by the SF Symphony at the 2012 Chinese New Year concert. 

Erhu player George Gao joins Chen and the Orchestra to perform his original work Capriccio No. 6, “Shaoyin,” which premiered with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra in 2023. The erhu is a traditional two-stringed bowed instrument that is also known as the “Chinese violin.” The program concludes with An-Lun Huang's Saibei Dance from Saibei Suite No. 2, which features styles of wind and percussion from Northwest China, and Chen Ge Xin's Gong Xi Gong Xi, a popular Chinese Lunar New Year song that translates to “Congratulations” or “Wishing You Happiness and Prosperity.” 

The postconcert Lunar New Year Banquet begins at 6:30pm in Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall at Davies Symphony Hall, and features a lucky draw and live music, including a special performance. VIP dinner packages include access to the preconcert receptions, premium concert seating, and seating at the banquet. The banquet is catered by McCalls Catering & Events, with lighting design by Got Light and projection design by Yuki Izumihara. 

Proceeds from the Lunar New Year celebration support the Symphony's artistic, education, and community programs, benefiting tens of thousands of people each year. This concert is presented in partnership with the San Francisco Arts Commission.