A bit of good news from Davies Symphony Hall

The San Francisco Symphony's Youth Orchestra concert will go on as scheduled this coming Sunday afternoon. Equally good news is that the striking SF Symphony musicians will not be picketing the concert, allowing patrons and fans of the Youth Orchestra to attend the concert without having to cross a picket line.

This is a classy move by the musicans and they should be applauded for not hindering an important moment for these young artists, who have been working for months to prepare for this concert.

Tickets for the concert are still available. Here is the press release from the Symphony, sent today:

The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO) concert scheduled for Sunday, March 24 at 2:00 p.m. at Davies Symphony Hall will take place as scheduled, as the Symphony is continuing to work toward a resolution to the dispute between the musicians of the Orchestra and the administration.  

San Francisco Symphony musicians are central to the success of the SFS Youth Orchestra, as they serve as coaches every Saturday in sectional rehearsals and as mentors to the young musicians, both in music and in life. The YO musicians benefit from a pre-professional educational experience of the highest level under the auspices of the San Francisco Symphony.  SFS Youth Orchestra musicians, who have been preparing and rehearsing for this concert for months, should have the opportunity to share their music with audiences at Davies Symphony Hall as scheduled on Sunday.

The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO) is recognized internationally as one of the finest youth orchestras in the world. The more than 100 diverse musicians, ranging in age from 12 to 21, represent communities from throughout the Bay Area.  In addition to its annual concert series at Davies Symphony Hall, the Youth Orchestra has toured Europe eight times, most recently in 2012, including appearances at the Berlin Philharmonie, Munich Philharmonie, the International Festival d’Echternach in Luxembourg, the Rheingau Festival Wiesbaden, Regensburg and Salzburg. For these appearances, the Orchestra won a 2011-12 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming of American music on foreign tours. The SFSYO program is central to the mission of the San Francisco Symphony, and reflects the collective commitment of musicians and administration to music education and to the greater Bay Area community the organization serves. 

The concert on March 24 opens with the West Coast premiere of Evan Chapman’s second thoughts for percussion quartet, which will feature SFSYO percussionists Emily Aiken, Noah McKee, Benjamin Ring, and Marty Thenell. Evan Chapman is in his final year at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. He composed second thoughts in 2012 for his alma mater, Marriotts Ridge High School, and the work was premiered at the school’s Jukebox Time Machine musical in October. Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, Richard Strauss’s Serenade for Winds, Respighi’s Fountains of Rome, and Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 are also on the program.  Tickets are $45 for reserved seating and $12 general admission and are available at sfsymphony.org, 415-864-6000, or the Davies Symphony Hall Box Office on Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street in San Francisco.