San Francisco Conservatory of Music

01/05/2024

Xavier Muzik knows his music—just don't try and label it.

"Genre is tired, it's not for me," Muzik jokes of his musical style. "I feel like when people ask me what type of music I write, I say concert music, only because that's the setting that it's in," Muzik added.

The 28-year-old is the latest winner of SFCM's Emerging Black Composers Project, a joint project started in 2020 with the San Francisco Symphony. As the winner of the project, renamed the Michael Morgan Prize earlier this year, he will receive a $15,000 commission and mentorship, and his piece will premiere with the San Francisco Symphony during the 2024-2025 season.

Applicants are encouraged to apply today. This year’s EBCP submission deadline is February 1, 2024.

Full article ➡ https://bit.ly/47o5Ktg

12/21/2023

Happy holidays from SFCM and professor of jazz vibraphone, Warren Wolf!

12/20/2023

Pre-College alum Vinay Parameswaran returned to SFCM for the last orchestra performance of the fall semester, sharing his experience since his graduation with students both on and off the podium.

Parameswaran led the SFCM Orchestra in Rossini's Overture to Semiramide, Mary Kouyoumdjian's Walking With Ghosts and Beethoven's iconic Symphony No. 3, known colloquially as "Eroica," taking SFCM Music Director Edwin Outwater's place onstage, a full-circle moment for the younger conductor, who studied with Outwater for four years while in the Pre-College program.

Full story ➡️ https://bit.ly/476qTrK

12/12/2023

"I run an interdisciplinary music ensemble: the Magari Ensemble. We started in LA in 2018, and then relocated to Boston in 2021. We were collaborating across the city and that's where we honed our interdisciplinary mission. My sister is a contemporary dancer studying at Alvin Ailey in New York, so for our first partnership we played an evening of Bach, and she danced, and we called it 'Bach in Motion.'

Since then, we've just really expanded in scope with every concert. We did a Schoenberg program and worked with the Schoenberg Center in Vienna to curate a gallery of materials from his life. He was a teacher, painter, and inventor; he had a whole room in his home where he invented things, and he just never threw anything away, like the tiny nubs of pencils. We also interviewed his son Larry Schoenberg, who actually lives in LA.

This past spring, we commissioned four composers to write pieces about areas that are soon to be underwater due to climate change. Next year, we're starting a new initiative called Subject to Change, which is a commissioning project to have female/non-binary composers write pieces for two violins, because there are only three pieces that exist for two violins & orchestra written by women.

For that, we're going to perform at SFCM, record in Studio G, and then publish the works through [SFCM Professional Development Chair] Kristen Khlehr's publishing house. And we just won the tier one grant last week, so that's moving ahead.

We got our 501(c)(3) status about two years ago, which has helped us accept more donations, and we're up to a seven-person team, so we spent this fall integrating Slack and Google Workspace. And that's great because we announced our expansion just last month: Going forward, we're going to be based in LA, San Francisco and Boston."

— Natalie Boberg, first-year master's student, violin

12/04/2023

🎉NEWS: SFCM graduate Aleksandra Vrebalov ('96), is the 2024 winner of the Grawemeyer Award in Music Composition, a $100,000 international prize honoring outstanding innovation in music.

Read the full story below. ⬇

An SFCM graduate has won a major composition award.

12/01/2023

Three alumni prove there's no "right" way to make a life in music, from the opera orchestra to Off-Broadway to playing with Ed Sheeran. Read how Carolyn Bacon, Anna Nordmoe, and Evan Kahn's time at SFCM helped prepare them to forge their own path in music. ⬇

For these alumni, their time at SFCM took them in three unique different directions: the SF Opera Orchestra, the world of New York cabaret, and quite literally up in the air.

11/29/2023

SFCM's 2023 fall opera was a double bill of Pietro Mascagni's 'Zanetto' and Giacomo Puccini's 'Gianni Schicchi.' SFCM's Musical and Managing Director of Opera Curt Pajer explains how the double-cast productions go from skeletal rehearsals to fully-realized productions on a three-month schedule that would give some professionals pause.

Pajer says SFCM operas are an exercise in "rolling with the punches … Each step of the way we're adding a complication. First, we're just doing music, then we're memorizing it, then we're walking around while we're doing it and interacting with each other. Then we add the orchestra, then we get on stage and add a costume and props. Then we have to do all that on the stage that's been constructed for this."

Still, he adds, "You should see the smiles. As an educator and as a musician, it's really heartwarming."

Full story and photos below ⬇

For SFCM's Musical and Managing Director of Opera, Curt Pajer, the fall 2023 opera performance meant keeping students on their toes.

11/28/2023

NEWS: Celebrated baritone Lester Lynch will join the voice faculty of SFCM in fall 2024.

"It's an honor to join the esteemed faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music," said Lynch. "After being on the stage for 30-plus years, teaching seems to come naturally to me. I'm extremely excited and will do everything I can to support and guide the next generation of musicians."

Recognized globally for his "rich, powerful voice that commands the stage," baritone Lester Lynch has established a place in the classical music world as one of the most in-demand artists of the 21st century.

11/27/2023

SFCM's application deadline is approaching! Apply by 12/1 for the 2024/25 academic year.

More information ➡ https://bit.ly/3utaSye

11/22/2023

From film composition to video game scoring and performing music artists, recent graduates of SFCM's Technology and Applied Composition Program (TAC) have put versatility in the spotlight.

Catch up with four TAC alumni—Jon Parra, JVNA, Molly Monahan, and Kyle Randall—and learn about the careers they've created spanning from Netflix to PlayStation and the concert stage since graduating.

Welcome to a world where the hum of computer circuitry fuses with the crescendo of orchestral strings, and the click-clack of a mouse orchestrates a new digital sonata: You're at the heart of SFCM's Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) program.

11/22/2023

"I've been teaching since I was a young child: I also had a studio in Germany, in Düsseldorf and whenever I would go to Korea I would teach at the Seoul Central Conservatory and give masterclasses. I'm very keen on programs where I can teach the depth of chamber music, which is a very different kind of art than solo violin playing.

I think the string quartet is like the highest form of social interaction, in a way. You don't feel the responsibility of dominating the stage on your own, but sharing that momentum together with colleagues—who feel like your best friends, almost like family—that's so special, very unique. It's just not as nerve-wracking, but you can still make your individual voice within the ensemble. All the voices have their say about what they want to say, yet they have to also accommodate others, so while you don't lose your own character, you make the unity also shine.

So I think when I work with students, particularly in chamber music, I try to make them listen as a group as well as being able to focus on their own sound. Most people who are used to studying solo violin, they are used to just kind of playing in tune and listening to their own sound: You don't exactly have to think about balance or how the sound blends or, as a unit, what kind of image you make together. But if you're playing in a group, you have to have an ear while you're playing to listen as one of the audience members, and I think that does require a certain kind of training. You can kind of develop a very mature kind of musicianship, where you are able to interact with other musicians, even if they're accompanying you, that encourages them to feel like you're part of this one piece of music together. I think that's beautiful."

— Wonhee Bae, new faculty for violin and string and chamber music

📸 Matthew Washburn | Barbro Osher Recital, The Bowes Center

11/20/2023

Long-running San Francisco choir Chanticleer stopped in at SFCM early in November to attend a rehearsal and give a short performance to the Conservatory Chorus, a connection made thanks to Chorus Director Eric Choate.

Calling them "one of the great treasures of the choral world" and "a fixture in the fine arts of San Francisco since their founding in 1978," Choate explained, "I met with their Artistic Director, Tim Keeler, last spring to discuss our shared desire to forge a stronger connection between the students at SFCM and Chanticleer, and we both agreed that we must get our choirs in the same room together."

SFCM is unique in that all undergraduate students, regardless of their area of study, participate in the Conservatory Chorus. "Choral singing is a core component of one's musical formation," Choate says. "Through it, students develop a command of musicianship and intonation, sharpen their intuition for phrasing, heighten their sensitivity in ensemble performance, and expand their ability to internalize multiple contrapuntal lines."

There were a few extra voices at an SFCM Chorus rehearsal in November—and they came with a pretty impressive pedigree.

11/19/2023

SFCM students continued a proud tradition of giving back in early November with a benefit concert to support the recovery efforts from the Maui wildfires that occurred in August.

"When the devastating wildfires occurred in August, I was immensely moved by how quickly people had come together to support and mourn for the victims of Lahaina," student Justin Park said. Currently a Technology and Applied Composition student, Park is a native of the state. "Since leaving the islands, I have always wanted to share my native Hawaiian identity with the community to showcase the rich history and culture of Hawaiʻi. Traditionally, we utilize music to recite our history, to celebrate, and to lament. It is a universal art form that binds all of us from across the world."

"We had traditional Hawaiian chant, Hawaiian music, interpretive dance, and music from around the world, like Irish and Celtic tunes," Meli Everson, who organized the concert alongside Park, said. "We wanted to make sure our program highlighted the theme of the concert, which was Pūpūkahi i holomua—United We Move Forward. We had compositions from SFCM students as well as compositions from Hawaiian figures such as Queen Liliʻuokalani."

“Hawai'i loves San Francisco and San Francisco loves Hawai'i," Christopher Yick, the founder of the Hawaiian Chamber Music Festival, said earlier this year, and nowhere was that lov

11/16/2023

When your campus is across the street from the city's symphony, it might start to seem normal for a world-renowned musician to drop in for a masterclass, but students were still enthralled by violinist Augustin Hadelich's November visit to SFCM.

Hadelich, in town to perform Dvořák's Violin Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony, delivered an inspiring masterclass to students, peppered with advice like "Find the wailing in the song" and "A beautiful harmony is like sinking into a pillow."

"It's always inspiring to learn from the best players," Sofia Malvinni, a sophomore studying with Simon James, said. "Standing in close proximity while he was demonstrating allowed me to experience the subtlety and precision of his technical abilities. It was exciting and inspiring to be on stage with a world-famous soloist who performs nearly every night with a different orchestra, and following his career is now more meaningful for me."

When your campus is across the street from the city's symphony, it might start to seem normal for a world-renowned musician to drop in for a masterclass, but students were still enthralled by violinist Augustin Hadelich's November visit to SFCM.

11/15/2023

Known as “one of the most admired pianists of his generation” by The New York Times, Inon Barnatan visited SFCM in October as an artist-in-residence and performed with students for SFCM's annual Chamber Music Tuesday concert series.

"The most important things are spending time with your craft and establishing a voice that's singularly 'you'—then you can truly own the career label as something that is totally yours with conviction," Barnatan added.

Read more about his visit, including the top takeaways students had below. ⬇

Known as “one of the most admired pianists of his generation” by The New York Times, Inon Barnatan visited SFCM in October as an artist-in-residence and performed with students for SFCM's annual Chamber Music Tuesday concert series.

11/14/2023

SFCM will be keeping fingers crossed for faculty and alumni at the 2024 GRAMMY Awards, where nominations include musical works by new piano faculty member Awadagin Pratt, as well as graduates of SFCM, Teddy Abrams and Joseph Christianson.

SFCM's partner in the arts, the San Francisco Symphony, which many faculty members perform with, was also nominated for Best Orchestral Performance and Best Choral Performance. Both recordings were produced by SFCM's Director of Recording Services, Jason O'Connell, who also teaches in SFCM's Technology and Applied Composition department.

SFCM will be keeping fingers crossed for faculty and alumni at the 2024 GRAMMY Awards, where nominations include musical works by new piano faculty member Awadagin Pratt, as well as graduates of SFCM, Teddy Abrams and Joseph Christianson.

11/13/2023

Gautier Capuçon has been described as "a true 21st century ambassador for the cello," but after SFCM cello faculty Amos Yang introduced Capuçon before his masterclass in October, "trooper" might have been a better descriptor. Yang revealed that the first contact he had with Capuçon was when he arrived at the San Francisco Symphony to play Schumann's Cello Concerto in 2011. After the first rehearsal, Capuçon ended up at the hospital where he was diagnosed with appendicitis and underwent an emergency appendectomy.

At his masterclass, Capuçon began, "The big question for all of us is how to find the balance between excellence and pleasure. We work for hours and hours and hours, and we try to go as far as we can, but we should not forget the pleasure. Music is about pleasure: It's about sharing emotions, giving them to the audience. And if you don't take any while you play, you cannot give them. All our life, we try to balance that: Still every day I learn."

Gautier Capuçon has been described as "a true 21st century ambassador for the cello," but after SFCM cello faculty Amos Yang introduced Capuçon before his masterclass in October, "trooper" might have been a better descriptor.

11/13/2023

It's a piece of music once allegedly perceived as unplayable, but was just performed on stage by 13-year-old Pre-College student Ava Pakiam.

Read more about Ava's performance with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra and how she prepared with her Pre-College teacher, Simon James. ⬇

It's a piece of music once allegedly perceived as unplayable, but was just performed on stage by 13-year-old Pre-College student Ava Pakiam.

11/08/2023

Expect a concert like no other, with an award winner, all four composition faculty members, and a tribute to a musician and professor at SFCM.

The Kristin Pankonin American Art Song Award Showcase on November 13 will feature the 2023 winner of the award, Jameson Caps' work 'will you change me'.

In addition, this concert will feature the music of longtime former faculty member Conrad Susa. Susa taught at SFCM until his death in 2013. "It's our honor to highlight our beloved former colleague and chair, in honor of the 10th anniversary of his death," said David Conte, Chair of the composition program.

Expect a concert like no other, with an award winner, all four composition faculty members, and a tribute to a musician and professor at SFCM.

11/07/2023

SFCM in partnership with the San Francisco Symphony and cellist Gautier Capuçon, announced today that Quenton Blache, 22, will receive a commissioning prize under the umbrella of the Emerging Black Composers Project.

Anonymously selected by Capuçon from the pool of applications for the 2023 Emerging Black Composers Project, Blache will receive $5,000 to commission a new work for cello and small ensemble that will be featured on an upcoming album by Capuçon. Capuçon will also give the world premiere performance of the work at Davies Symphony Hall on a Great Performers Series concert during the 2024–25 San Francisco Symphony season.

More information. ⬇

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), in partnership with the San Francisco Symphony and cellist Gautier Capuçon, announced today that Quenton Xavier Blache, 22, will receive a commissioning prize under the umbrella of th

11/07/2023

"I started playing in sixth grade, wind ensemble, but because I joined late, I didn't have an instrument in time, so the teacher let me use his flugelhorn, and so I started out on that. That led me to euphonium in seventh grade, and then I jumped to trombone, French horn, tuba. Eventually I realized that I liked them all, but that euphonium was the brass instrument for me.

High school came around and I was doing pep band and whatnot, but all the pep tunes were so outdated—'Louie Louie,' the 'Notre Dame Victory March', which I didn't even understand why we were doing that one, because our high school had its own. So I asked the band director if I could arrange something that would be more relevant, and he was like, okay, go ahead. I did 'Take on Me,' 'I Ran,' a Taylor Swift song. But I was adding my own stuff to it and I figured, well, composing isn't that different from this, so I just started writing my own works at around 15.

I spent three years at the community college and then I said I wanted to go big, so I only auditioned for places on euphonium or composition. I had been following Mason Bates for a while, his music, so I figured, all right, just a long shot, let's see if I can get into his studio. And I did … in 2020.

Because of everything that year I took some time off, but that was the best thing I'd ever done for myself. I was working in a warehouse, going to a therapist, meditating, journaling. I learned that every time I had done music, it was just a way to avoid things, it wasn't really out of the joy of my own heart. I forgot that you need to do music because you want to, not because you have to because of other things. It has to be fun. That was all really healing, but I was worried that I was moving towards just being done with music. My biggest fear was that when I started the year off, would I see music as just a hobby? Would I be able to come back to it?

But then as it came around, I was like, now I'm gonna get it done. I had a bunch of things performed last year, and then this year is starting off strong already: I have four pieces being performed this semester alone. I'm glad to be back. I feel on fire."

—Noah Sanchez, composition

11/03/2023

Longtime composition faculty David Garner's Faculty Artist Series concert on Nov. 6 will, appropriately, marshal a roster of longtime collaborators from around the Bay Area for an evening that culminates with his 2023 Hoefer Prize-winning composition, Sinfonietta for Double Wind Quintet.

Read more about the program, faculty and student performers, and reserve tickets below. ⬇

Longtime composition faculty David Garner's Faculty Artist Series concert on Nov.

11/02/2023

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music mourns the loss of musician and longtime faculty member William (Bill) Wellborn, who died October 28.

Wellborn began working at the Conservatory in 1989 in the Pre-College and Continuing Education programs as a piano teacher; he would later join the Collegiate division as a professor of piano pedagogy.

"To know Bill was to be his friend. We will deeply miss him, but will remain inspired by his legacy of outstanding teaching and artistry," said SFCM Dean and Chief Academic Officer Jonas Wright.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music mourns the loss of musician and longtime faculty member William (Bill) Wellborn, who died October 28.

11/01/2023

NEWS: SFCM and the San Francisco Symphony announced today that applications are now open for the fourth annual Emerging Black Composers Project (EBCP), its Michael Morgan Prize and the Cabrillo Emerging Black Composers Prize.

The winner of the 2024 Michael Morgan Prize will receive a $15,000 award and have a new work commissioned to receive its world premiere with the San Francisco Symphony, led by Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen. The winner will also receive mentorship from Salonen, SFCM Music Director Edwin Outwater, and Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, the resident conductor of engagement and education at SF Symphony and chair of the EBCP selection committee.

The winner will also receive career support and investment from SFCM faculty and musicians. This award was renamed the Michael Morgan Prize in 2023 in honor of the late maestro who served as the first chair and co-founder of the EBCP before he died in 2021.

More information ⬇

https://bit.ly/3sfav9O

10/31/2023

British tenor Ian Bostridge has one of the more unusual paths to professional singing success: He only began singing professionally at the age of 27, after having a distinguished career as a historical scholar focusing on a specific period of witchcraft in England. On the singing side, his career includes 15 GRAMMY nominations (with three wins) and an appointment as Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He is also currently represented by both Opus 3 Artists and Askonas Holt, the two artist-management companies part of SFCM's alliance.

"Working with the acclaimed Ian Bostridge was an absolute pleasure and honor," student Joseph Calzada said. "He is a scholar, and he strives for some of the best artistry and interpretations that I have ever seen."

"He told me that he does not sing, he conveys the message through the words and the setting. This really sat with me, because this is a story, no different from opera. It is merely a story of one’s journey and his own personal battles."

Read more ➡ https://bit.ly/3tT3n3n

📷 Matthew Washburn

10/30/2023

How do you help a piece as iconic as George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' turn 100? That was the question facing Lara Downes—who has a long history with the work—as discussions around the piece's anniversary took shape.

Downes and saxophonist/composer/arranger Edmar Colón added Afro-Caribbean and Chinese musical elements to create an updated vision of Gershwin's piece. The SFCM Orchestra, under Music Director Edwin Outwater, helped bring the piece alive onstage and in recording sessions for a forthcoming release on PENTATONE, the record label part of the SFCM alliance.

For students—many of whom are involved in a recording project of this magnitude for the first time—Outwater has stressed that it's a valuable piece of training with some big names attached. "The engineer on this, Adam Abeshouse, is a Grammy winner; my last project won a Grammy, Lara is a prolific recording artist. It's a high standard of what recording is, so when the students go out and record themselves, they know the standards they'll be held to and how to work to them."

How do you help a piece as iconic as George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue turn 100? That was the question facing Lara Downes—who has a long history with the work—as discussions around the piece's anniversary took shape.

10/27/2023

In a first time collaboration, SFCM students will work with and perform alongside New Century Chamber Orchestra musicians with Alexi Kenney as concertmaster for two side-by-side multi-media performances, 'Sonic Ecosystems' in January 2024.

"My hope is that the SFCM students who participate in this project will not only gain first-hand insight into how a professional, artist-driven chamber orchestra is run," Kenney added, "but will be inspired by the creativity of the experience and will leave feeling empowered to explore their own creative directions through music."

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) and New Century Chamber Orchestra (New Century) are announcing a new partnership bringing together students and professional musicians led by violinist Alexi Kenney, culminating in two performances January 19 and 2

10/25/2023

The world-renowned pianist Emanuel Ax came to SFCM for a masterclass in October. Ax worked with several student musicians during the masterclass across different instruments, "SFCM has some really exceptionally talented students," Ax said.

"It was incredible to be able to watch such a world-class and beloved artist in close range," said student Isabel Tannenbaum, who attended the masterclass.

Critically acclaimed for his “thoughtful, lyrical, lustrous” pianism by The Washington Post Emanuel Ax took those skills and more to SFCM in October for a masterclass and visit with students.

10/24/2023

"I started out playing piano at four years old, my mom taught me, so I've played piano for longer than cello. I didn't start playing cello until quite late, like maybe 12 or 13. I actually really wanted to play the bass: In school we were asked to pick two string instruments, so I wanted to choose the bass and the violin as the backup, because it was the only other instrument that I knew. But I remember thinking that, well, that bass is never gonna fit in our car, so instead I literally just chose the next biggest one—the cello.

I never imagined myself being a musician before I started playing cello. It was something I didn't think was possible. I think the sound of string instruments in particular is rawer to me. There's a lot more of a connection to the instrument than I had with the piano. When I started playing the cello, it was like, I can take it everywhere. I hold it and when I play, it's very close to me, and it's a very personal sound. No one sounds the same.

But I didn't really take the instrument that seriously until my undergrad: That was the first time I was actually playing music with other people. When I was playing piano, it was always by myself, I never collaborated with anybody else. So making friends that also did the same thing I did was a first-time experience for me, and meeting other musicians and playing for and with them, I thought, 'This is something I can see myself doing.'

I actually auditioned at SFCM for my master's two years ago. Then [my current SFCM teacher] Jennifer Culp emailed me out of the blue two years later saying, 'There's this amazing fellowship with the San Francisco Ballet here.' After my master's I was kind of just gonna go home and start teaching, maybe apply for a few orchestras or something. I mean, this was the only post-grad thing I applied for. And now I'm here with this amazing fellowship and the opportunity to play with these world-class musicians and the actual time to study with Jennifer."

— Frèdèric Renaud, SFCM and SF Ballet Denis de Coteau fellow

📷 Christopher Jasiewicz

10/23/2023

Netflix has another big hit with One Piece, and it has more than just one piece of SFCM talent at the musical helm.

Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) instructor and composer Daria Novoliantceva helped orchestrate the music behind One Piece, released August 31 to rave reviews and record viewership. "It was truly a privilege," Novoliantceva said. "I am very proud to have been part of it."

Novoliantceva brought her SFCM creative team with her: Molly Monahan ('20) as orchestration assistant and Natasha Frank ('22) as an orchestration intern; Frank was still a student at the time. "When the three of us watched the show, that made us even happier because we could see how perfectly the music fits the picture," she added.

Netflix has another big hit with One Piece, and it has more than just one piece of SFCM talent at the musical helm.

10/19/2023

Of the 120 pianos at SFCM, there are 100 at the school's Ann Getty Center and 20 at its Bowes Center, and they're all overseen by the Conservatory's Director of Piano Services, Michael Disque, Piano Technician Brian Lee and technician Thomas Malone.

The complete "setup" of a new piano can take a week or longer, with a tuning taking around an hour. Add that to general wear-and-tear repair and the numbers stack up: "Given that we have 120 pianos in use at the school, and there are over 12,000 parts in each piano, there are always unexpected situations that call for improvisation. We never know exactly how our workday is going to go," Disque says.

Everything from the Bay Area's humidity to the technique of specific pianists is a factor into the piano repair team's work. Read more about the ins and outs of their work at the link below. ⬇

Ever wonder what goes into making a music school's fleet of pianos sing?