San Francisco Academy Orchestra

Last updated

The San Francisco Academy Orchestra, founded in 2000, is an American Symphony Orchestra based in San Francisco, California.

Contents

Mission

To preserve, promote, and present the art of orchestral performance as a vital form of human expression. [1]

History

Since the year 2000 the above mission has been achieved specifically by offering emerging professionals the opportunity to rehearse and perform alongside members of the San Francisco Symphony. This side-by-side method of pedagogy, which is referred to by Andrei Gorbatenko as the "Academy Experience," has been utilized in 15 uninterrupted seasons of orchestral events with a faculty of San Francisco members as well as internationally acclaimed guest artists. [2]

Artist diploma in orchestral studies

In response to rising tuition costs the San Francisco Academy Orchestra's further meets this mission through the artist diploma program designed to offer an intensive one-year education that focuses solely on the practical skills necessary to prepare for auditions and a career in orchestral music. Coursework includes weekly private instruction, weekly group excerpt classes, master classes, mock auditions, and the opportunity to rehearse and perform alongside members of the San Francisco Symphony. Completion of the curriculum will result in the Academy Orchestra's Artist Diploma in Orchestral Studies and potentially the Academy Prize in recognition of one musician who demonstrates outstanding artistry. [3]

Music director

Guest conductors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Conservatory of Music</span> Music school in California, U.S.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California, United States. As of 2021, it had 480 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent Nagano</span> American conductor and opera administrator

Kent George Nagano GOQ, MSM is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the Hamburg State Opera.

George Daugherty is an American conductor, director, producer, and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Mozart Ensemble</span>

Pacific Edge Voices is a volunteer choral organization based in Berkeley, CA. The group was formed to provide a chorus of professional quality for highly skilled and experienced singers who did not wish to make singing a full-time profession. It was to be large enough to perform the major concert literature, but small enough to remain highly selective. PEV presents a wide range of choral musical styles, including, but not limited to, traditional choral literature, new works by contemporary composers and a cappella jazz and pop. PEV performs at least three self-produced concerts sets each year, along with various collaborations, often with prominent artists including Dave Brubeck, Meredith Monk, Kent Nagano & Sufjan Stevens. The first and second concerts of the year are classically oriented programs. Over the years these programs have tended toward 20th-century composers. The chorus has become known around the San Francisco Bay Area for its innovative programming. A particular highlight came in 2002 when the chorus performed Kurt Weill’s Der Lindberghflug alongside works by Philip Glass, Meredith Monk and David Lang. The concert was presented in the East Bay on the aircraft carrier Hornet and in San Francisco in the newly constructed Aviation Museum at SFO. The 3rd concert set each year is an all a cappella ‘pops’ concert featuring the group in various formations from 2 up to 50, performing arrangements of jazz, pop, rock, & folk tunes.

Viviana Guzmán is a Chilean professional flutist, composer, dancer and poet, who performs over 80 concerts a year, and has played in 122 countries. She has been described by The New York Times as "an imaginative artist". It has also been said of her that "Guzmán may be the first flutist since her teacher Jean-Pierre Rampal, to be able to establish a sustaining solo career." She actively coaches at the Peninsula Youth Orchestra. Official Website

The New Century Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1992 by cellist Miriam Perkoff and violist Wieslaw Pogorzelski. The goal of the founders was to present classical music in a fresh and unique way in the San Francisco Bay Area. The music director chooses the programs and guides the artistic vision and leads the seventeen members of the orchestra as part of a conductorless orchestra. Musical decisions are made collaboratively, in the goal of enhancing the level of commitment on the part of the musicians and increasing the precision, passion and power of their playing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Bach Soloists</span>

The American Bach Soloists (ABS) is an American baroque orchestra based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The orchestra was founded in Belvedere, California, in 1989. Performers share music from Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries during the Classical era, including Handel, Vivaldi, and Mozart, with modern audiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masterworks Chorale</span> Choral ensemble based in San Mateo, California

Masterworks Chorale is a choral ensemble based in San Mateo, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Orchestra of the Americas</span> Symphony orchestra representing Western Hemisphere countries

The Orchestra of the Americas (OA) is a Latin Grammy Award winning symphony orchestra of musical leaders, ages 18 to 30, representing more than 25 countries of the Western Hemisphere.

Scott Pingel is an American bassist who is the principal bassist in the San Francisco Symphony. He had been the principal bassist with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. In 2011 Pingel had the privilege of performing on the acclaimed Karr-Koussevitzky bass for his solo debut with Andrei Gorbatenko and the San Francisco Academy Orchestra.

Andrei Gorbatenko is a Ukrainian American conductor and educator. He currently serves as music director of the San Francisco Academy Orchestra and has held that post since the year 2000.

The San Francisco Choral Society is a nonprofit organization comprising 150-200 auditioned, volunteer singers dedicated to the performance of choral masterpieces and commissioned works, and accompanied by professional orchestras and soloists. The performance schedule includes two concerts each in spring, summer, and fall, and an annual holiday concert and singalong.

Redwood Symphony is an American orchestra based in Redwood City, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is the Orchestra in Residence at Cañada College. Redwood Symphony is an all-volunteer orchestra dedicated to the creation of an alternative model of the symphony orchestra in the 21st century. To accomplish this goal, the orchestra concentrates on ambitious, contemporary repertoire, experiments with the concert format and adopts a more informal mode of dress than most other groups. Notable accomplishments are performances of all of the symphonies of Gustav Mahler and many world and local premieres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra</span> Youth orchestra based in San Francisco, California

The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO) is a youth orchestra organized by the San Francisco Symphony. The SFSYO performs an annual concert series and has made several recordings. The orchestra rehearses in Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall and has been directed by Daniel Stewart since the 2019-2020 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra</span>

The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO) is a group of 100 young musicians, selected from over 45 cities across Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Ben Opie is a classically trained oboist and artistic director from Victoria, Australia.

Michael Gilbertson is an American composer, conductor and pianist. He was one of three finalists for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, making him one of the youngest finalists in the history of the award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Young Artists Orchestra of Las Vegas</span> American youth orchestra

The Young Artists Orchestra of Las Vegas, (YAO) also known as The Dr. Shirley Linzy Young Artists Orchestra of Las Vegas and The Las Vegas Young Artists Orchestra, is a tuition-free & professional training youth orchestra founded by violist and conductor Yunior Lopez in 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The YAO consists of three primary ensembles with nearly 150 students and young professionals up to age 22.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Bejarano</span> American conductor

Jessica Bejarano is the founder and conductor of the San Francisco Philharmonic.

Elayne Viola Jones was an American timpanist. An African American woman, born in NYC to Barbadian immigrants, she overcame challenges. From learning piano to excelling in timpani, she graduated from Juilliard, her mentors being Saul Goodman and Morris "Moe" Goldenberg. Jones's career was marked by remarkable firsts. She became the first Black opera orchestra member in 1949, played with esteemed ensembles, and won a blind audition to join the San Francisco Symphony in 1972, becoming the first black principal in a major American orchestra. Also, Jones was the first documented African American to play with the New York Philharmonic. In 2019 she became the fourth female member of the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame.

References

Sources