SF Classical Voice is now on @substack with more music and dance coverage to feast on. On Wednesdays, listen to a new episode of our “What Resonates” podcast and catch a glimpse of not-to-be-missed Bay Area performances. On Friday’s, read an excerpt of an article that SFCV published that week, with added food for thought. Finally, on Sundays, settle into a think piece from a member of our editorial staff. Head to the link in our bio to check out our most recent posts.
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Your Summer Festival Guide is here! Save this post for a glimpse at upcoming music festivals in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
https://bit.ly/SFCV-2026-Summer-Festival-Guide
Written by SFCV Editors and Janos Gereben.
#musicfestivals #classicalmusic #jazz
Summer arts season is here — and California’s stages aren’t slowing down.
Check out this week’s highlights, including one standout moment: Steven Winn’s review of Slobodeniouk’s “textured, multicolored orchestral tapestry” at Davies Hall, featuring music by Dutilleux, Ibert, and Tchaikovsky.
Bookmark the guide. Your summer calendar is about to fill up.
Read on Substack: sfclassicalvoice.substack.com
#ClassicalMusic #SanFranciscoSymphony #CaliforniaArts #SummerFestivals #LAPhil #StanfordLive #Bach #Debussy #LiveMusic
Environmental themes abounded in @gabriellasmith 's performance with the @laphi at @waltdisneyconcerthall last weekend. Instrumentalists broke free from the stage and were positioned around the concert hall to great effect. The first piece of the evening, written for LA Phil Principal Percussionist Matthew Howard, reverberated through the audience. Smith teamed up with longtime collaborator, cellist @starbuckcello , on "Duos," which according to our SFCV reviewer featured "a kind of environmental tension and release created through texture, density, and timbral transformation." Read the full music review at the link in our bio.
Written by Charles Burns. Photo by Scott Arenstein, photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.
#contemporarymusic #musicreview
Looking for something to hear this weekend?
Curtain Up highlights five performances across the Bay Area — from season finales to Broadway — and the concerts we’re most excited about.
Read our latest picks on Substack.
#BayAreaArts #ClassicalMusic #BayAreaEvents #SFClassicalVoice
From May 15-17, the @sanfrantapfest will welcome nine recognized tap dance instructors from around the country to San Francisco. Dancers of all experience levels can tap along. In its fourth year, SFTF organizer @melissatannus describes the 48-hours of tap as a "family reunion." Learn more about the dance festival at the link in our bio.
Written by Shiriel King Abramson. Photo courtesy of Melissa Tanus.
#tapdance #dance
“Legacy” is a big word in Bay Area classical music right now — and it’s especially meaningful for the @sfgirlschorus .
In this week’s episode of What Resonates, new Executive Director Mary Finch reflects on guiding the organization through a moment that balances history, growth, and the future of its young musicians.
Listen now on Substack.
#SFClassicalVoice #WhatResonates #SanFranciscoGirlsChorus #ClassicalMusic #BayAreaArts #WomenInArtsLeadership #Podcast
@stanfordlive ’s 2026-2027 is focused on “America’s evolving story, honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary while spotlighting the next generation of artists.” A rich kaleidoscope of cultures will be represented in the upcoming season's musical, dance, theater, and multidisciplinary offerings. At the link in our bio, discover which of your favorite artists are set to perform at Bing Concert Hall.
Written by Janos Gereben. Photo courtesy of Stanford Live.
#bayareamusic
The Castro Theatre is back — but not as the same institution.
In this week’s The Counterpoint, part of our Substack, Simon Cohen examines what the Castro’s $41 million renovation reveals about the future of live cultural infrastructure in San Francisco: the shift from curator-driven movie palaces to flexible promoter-operated venues designed to survive the economics of 2026.
At stake is more than one building. It’s a story about who controls cultural venues, how artistic legacy becomes institutional branding, and what happens when preservation collides with economic reality.
https://bit.ly/4nhTrYQ
#CastroTheatre #SanFrancisco #SFArts #BayAreaArts #CinemaCulture #FilmHistory #HistoricTheaters #QueerCinema #ArtsJournalism #CulturalCriticism #UrbanCulture #LiveEntertainment #CulturalPreservation #IndependentMedia #Substack #Architecture #ArtsAndCulture #MusicCulture #CulturalMemory #FutureOfCulture #PerformingArts #CreativeEconomy #TheCounterpoint #SanFranciscoCulture #VenueCulture
From intimate jazz and chamber-like writing to groove-driven songs and theatrical experimentation, this playlist traces the many dimensions of esperanza spalding’s artistry — inspired by SFCV’s conversation with spalding and Alonzo King following their collaboration, LEGACY, with LINES Ballet.
Listen on Substack: https://bit.ly/4dbcBef
#esperanzaspalding #AlonzoKing #LINESBallet #Jazz #Substack #Playlist #NowListening #AliceColtrane #SFCV
Music has a way of carrying memory — and sometimes helping us heal through it.
This week in The Overture, we explore the emotional resonance of music through essays on grief, remembrance, influence, and catharsis. From Leonard Bernstein and Michael Tilson Thomas to Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White, these stories reflect on how sound stays with us long after the final note.
Read this week’s edition of "The Overture: The timbre of this week in music," on Substack.
https://bit.ly/4tYJO3H
#substack #grief #music
Since 1882, the Golden Gate Park Band has brought music to the bandshell in the park. Their 2026 season will include music from Mexican, Hungarian, Irish, and Armenian composers, and include celebrations of Pride Month, Juneteenth, the Fourth of July, and more. Current music director and conductor Dr. German Gonzalez describes the awe that comes from playing outside in a space with excellent acoustics, and encourages new audience members to attend. “I’m hoping we'll draw two or three or five more people for each concert,” he said. “I'd like to see if we can get 500 people at every single concert.” Learn more about their season of free Sunday concerts from April to September at the link in our bio.
Written by Emily Wilson.
Photo by Musical Images.
#freemusic #goldengatepark
