Musicians of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra Perform Free Events at Locations in San Francisco and Oakland

The San Francisco Opera Orchestra is stepping out of the War Memorial Opera House pit and into the community for free concerts at San Francisco and Oakland venues in May. Musicians from the Orchestra will present chamber music at the Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood on Wednesday, May 7 and Oakland's Piedmont Piano Company on Thursday, May 8. The full San Francisco Opera Orchestra, under the baton of San Francisco Opera's Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim, will present SoundCheck at historic Saint Joseph's Arts Society on Saturday, May 17. Attendees at Saint Joseph's are encouraged to move around the room during the performance to experience the sounds and colors of the orchestra from different perspectives.

Each event is free and open to families and music lovers of all ages. Advanced registration is required for Night Music at Piedmont Piano Company on May 8 and SoundCheck at Saint Joseph's Arts Society on May 17.

MUSIC AND FLOWERS

Wednesday, May 7 at 6 p.m. (reception begins at 5 p.m.)

Minnesota Street Project

1275 Minnesota Street, San Francisco, CA 94107

Musicians from the San Francisco Opera Orchestra will perform floral-inspired chamber works at the Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood on Wednesday, May 7. The spacious gallery spaces will reverberate with the instrumental sounds of works by Giacomo Puccini, Gustav Mahler, Léo Delibes, Alberto Ginastera and Julian Milone. The concert will be preceded by a reception and an opportunity to tour the galleries beginning at 5 p.m.

Jennifer Cho, violin

Jennifer Hsieh, violin

Naoko Nakajima, violin

Leslie Ludena, violin

Barbara Riccardi, violin

Dian Zhang, violin

Lindan Burns, viola

Rachel Ko, cello

William Wasson, bass

Stephanie McNab, flute

Gabriel Young, oboe

Benjamin Brogadir, English horn

Program includes:

Crisantemi (Giacomo Puccini)

Songs of a Wayfarer (Gustav Mahler)

Flower Duet from Lakmé (Léo Delibes)

Duo for Flute and Oboe (Alberto Ginastera)

Carmen Fantasy (Julian Milone)

For more information about this free concert, visit sfopera.com/music-and-flowers.

NIGHT MUSIC

Thursday, May 8 at 7 p.m.

Piedmont Piano Company

1728 San Pablo Avenue, Oakland, CA 94612

REGISTER HERE

A chamber music program will be presented on Thursday, May 8 by instrumentalists of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra at Piedmont Piano Company in Oakland. Ten musicians from the Orchestra, along with longtime San Francisco Opera music staff member and pianist Robert Mollicone, take the stage in the Oakland showroom to perform intimate works by Claude Debussy, Astor Piazzolla, Eugene Bozza, George Frideric Handel, Ludwig van Beethoven and Maurice Ravel, among others.

Jennifer Cho, violin

Leslie Ludena, violin

Barbara Riccardi, violin

Dian Zhang, violin

Lindan Burns, viola

William Wasson, bass

Stephanie McNab, flute

Gabriel Young, oboe

Benjamin Brogadir, English horn

Daniel MacNeill, bassoon

with

Robert Mollicone, piano

Program includes:

Prélude from Suite Bergamasque (Claude Debussy)

Oblivion (Astor Piazzolla)

Shepherds of Provence, duo for oboe and English horn (Eugene Bozza)

Passacaglia for Violin and Viola (George Frideric Handel and Johan Halvorsen)

Allegro from Trio for Flute, Bassoon and Piano, WoO 37 (Ludwig van Beethoven)

Menuet from Le Tombeau de Couperin (Maurice Ravel)

Selections from Songs of a Wayfarer (Gustav Mahler)

Duo for Flute and Oboe (Alberto Ginastera)

Carmen Fantasy (Julian Milone)

Advanced registration is required. To register for this free concert, visit piedmontpiano.com/calendar/2025/5/8/sf-opera-orchestra.

SOUNDCHECK WITH EUN SUN KIM AND THE SAN FRANCISCO OPERA ORCHESTRA

Saturday, May 17 at 2:30 p.m.

Saint Joseph's Arts Society

1401 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

REGISTER HERE

Saint Joseph's Arts Society and San Francisco Opera invite families and music lovers of all ages for a joyful afternoon of music, discovery and community at one of San Francisco's historic landmarks in the SOMA district. For this special SoundCheck performance, the sounds of the full San Francisco Opera Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Eun Sun Kim, will fill the sweeping interior of Saint Joseph's with this new opportunity for connection through sound. Attendees are encouraged to move about the space to experience the music-making from different perspectives.

The program features The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Benjamin Britten's brilliant introduction to the instruments, sounds and personalities of the orchestra. The Orchestra will also perform Henry Purcell's original theme from the play Abdelazer, which inspired Britten's famous composition, and Richard Wagner's Siegfried Idyll.

Eun Sun Kim, conductor

San Francisco Opera Orchestra (Kay Stern, concertmaster)

1:30 p.m.         Doors open, social hour and cash bar

2:30 p.m.        Musical program begins

Program includes:

The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Benjamin Britten)

Theme from incidental music to Abdelazer (Henry Purcell)

Siegfried Idyll (Richard Wagner)

PLEASE NOTE: Advance ticket registration is required for this free event. Families and music lovers of all ages are welcome. Limited seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. To register, please visit thethirdplace.is/event/soundcheck.