SUNDAY JULY 12
SF Symphony w/ béla Fleck
Conductor: Edwin Outwater
Doors 12:00pm, Show 2:00pm
Free GA Lottery Open: May 31 @ 10am - June 7 @ 10am
SF Symphony
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The San Francisco Symphony is one of the world’s leading orchestras, based in San Francisco and founded in 1911. Performing at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall since 1980, the Symphony is recognized for its artistic excellence, innovative programming, and deep commitment to its community.
Over more than a century, the Symphony has played a central role in shaping the cultural life of the Bay Area, presenting a wide-ranging repertoire that spans classical masterworks, contemporary compositions, film scores, and cross-genre collaborations. Its work extends beyond the stage through education programs, a renowned Youth Orchestra, and community initiatives designed to expand access to music.
Internationally acclaimed, the Symphony tours regularly across the United States, Europe, and Asia and has earned numerous honors, including multiple Grammy Awards. Known for pushing the boundaries of what a modern orchestra can be, the San Francisco Symphony continues to evolve while maintaining its legacy as a cornerstone of the city’s cultural identity.
Béla Fleck
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Over the past half-century, Béla Fleck has exploded the parameters of the banjo, taking his staggering musicality to inspired blends of bluegrass, fusion, folk, jazz, classical, global music and more. In the process he’s won 19 Grammy Awards and rightfully earned a reputation as one of our most brilliant instrumentalists.
If you’re already familiar with Fleck — the genre-blurring virtuoso has done more to expand the possibilities of the banjo than any other player in the instrument’s history. To wit: last year, he released a collaboration with his new all-star trio with harpist Edmar Castañeda and drummer Antonio Sánchez is nothing less, featuring instrumentation that might safely be called uncommon. The year prior, it was his inspired reimagining of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Fleck has also been the banjo’s most thoughtful advocate and ambassador, and his acclaimed 2008 documentary Throw Down Your Heart and its accompanying soundtrack celebrated the instrument’s unsung African roots. Still, many fans would argue that Fleck’s greatest achievement is the Flecktones, another band of brilliant improvising musicians with an unusual format. (To start, their percussionist, Roy “Future Man” Wooten, plays an original invention called the Drumitar.)
Fleck has the virtuosic, jazz-to-classical ingenuity of an iconic instrumentalist and composer with bluegrass roots. For over 30 years, he has led Béla Fleck and The Flecktones, the groundbreaking quartet inspired by jazz, funk, bluegrass and beyond. From writing three banjo concertos for full symphony orchestra to collaborations with Dave Matthews, Chick Corea, Zakir Hussain and beyond, many tout that Béla Fleck is the world’s premier banjo player. As Jon Pareles wrote for The New York Times, “That’s a lot of territory for five strings.”
Edwin Outwater
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Music Director: San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Principal Guest Conductor & Curator: BBC Concert Orchestra (from September 2024)Edwin Outwater is redefining the concert experience as a groundbreaking conductor, curator, and producer, known for his dynamic approach and genre-blending collaborations. Working with a wide range of artists from Metallica to Wynton Marsalis, Renée Fleming, and Yo-Yo Ma, Outwater’s creative vision and ability to seamlessly navigate between musical worlds has made him one of the most sought-after conductors, with the legendary Michael Tilson Thomas aptly describing him as “one of the most innovative conductors on the scene today.”
Outwater currently serves as Music Director of San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he leads their ensembles and oversees the institution’s bold artistic initiatives. From September 2024, he takes on an additional role as Principal Guest Conductor and Curator of BBC Concert Orchestra, working closely with the orchestra’s Director to deliver an exciting range of concerts, community and education work over the next three seasons. His legacy as Music Director Laureate of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, where he served from 2007 – 2017, remains influential, marked by global recognition through international tours, collaborations, and the critically acclaimed recording From Here On Out.
Outwater’s recent high-profile engagements include appearances at major orchestras including New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Royal Philharmonic, where he headlined a multi-concert series at the grand opening of Steinmetz Hall in Florida. His collaborations extend to stars such as Diana Ross, Beck, Trey Anastasio, Leslie Odom Jr., and Lang Lang. As producer and Musical Advisor for National Symphony Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary Concert at the Kennedy Center, he shared the stage with artists including Audra McDonald, Christian McBride, and Common.
If you’re already familiar with Fleck — the genre-blurring virtuoso has done more to expand the possibilities of the banjo than any other player in the instrument’s history. To wit: last year, he released a collaboration with his new all-star trio with harpist Edmar Castañeda and drummer Antonio Sánchez is nothing less, featuring instrumentation that might safely be called uncommon. The year prior, it was his inspired reimagining of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Fleck has also been the banjo’s most thoughtful advocate and ambassador, and his acclaimed 2008 documentary Throw Down Your Heart and its accompanying soundtrack celebrated the instrument’s unsung African roots. Still, many fans would argue that Fleck’s greatest achievement is the Flecktones, another band of brilliant improvising musicians with an unusual format. (To start, their percussionist, Roy “Future Man” Wooten, plays an original invention called the Drumitar.)
Fleck has the virtuosic, jazz-to-classical ingenuity of an iconic instrumentalist and composer with bluegrass roots. For over 30 years, he has led Béla Fleck and The Flecktones, the groundbreaking quartet inspired by jazz, funk, bluegrass and beyond. From writing three banjo concertos for full symphony orchestra to collaborations with Dave Matthews, Chick Corea, Zakir Hussain and beyond, many tout that Béla Fleck is the world’s premier banjo player. As Jon Pareles wrote for The New York Times, “That’s a lot of territory for five strings.”
