San Francisco Symphony

San Francisco Symphony was started after 1906. The 1906 Earthquake was quite devastating for residents of San Francisco, California. In order to help bring about a more positive feeling it was decided a civic agenda was needed. By 1911, the San Francisco Symphony was ready to give their first concert. Since then they have offered performances throughout the year in order to bring culture to the lives in San Francisco.

There have been several musical directors including Henry Hadley, Pierre Monteux, Seiji Ozawa, Edo de Waart, Herbert Blomstedt, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Thomas is the current director as of 1995. The symphony has won a number of awards including 11 Grammy's. They also obtained the Japan Record Academy Award and France's Grand Prix du Disque. The symphony plays some of the most popular classical hits like Mozart, Brahms, and Beethoven. They also try to offer current hits for youth. As a result they even have a youth program to get musically talented children interested in playing music. Keeping Score was a program launched to bring education to the masses from all backgrounds. A few performances in recent months include Carmina Burana, Rufus Wainwright, Music for Families, Strauss, and Katharine Henrahan Rehearsal.