The PERFORMANCE of a LIFETIME.
TABLE OF02.CONTENTSExplore San Francisco 04. SFCM by the Numbers 06. The Center of Arts in San Francisco 08. Your New Home For Music 09. Two Unique Alliances: Opus 3 Artists and Pentatone Music 10. A Diverse Musical Community The San Francisco Conservatory of Music welcomes you to the City by the Bay.
11. Curriculum 12. Areas of Study 16. Ensembles 18. You’re in Good Company 20. Connect with Us “ I now look at the total picture, and I see SFCM pursuing an ambitious strategy that encompasses the entire music ecosystem. No other conservatory in the world has anything close to their presence in technology, recording, music distribution, career development, concert bookings, and even music journalism. ”
Gioia American Jazz Critic
Ted
Presidio
Outer Sunset MissionDistrictArtsDistrict
Fisherman’sChinatownWharf 2 1 5 12 23 19 17 9 14 20 21 22 4 13 8 3 7 10 11 NS EW Oracle Park Palace of Fine Arts Ferry Building Golden Gate Bridge Golden Gate Park OceanBeach CenterChaseMedicalUCSFCenter 24 15 18 25 6 Japantown 16 Arts & Culture Arts District is shown in detail on page 7. 1. Amoeba Records 2. Castro Theatre 3. Contemporary Jewish Museum 4. Exploratorium 5. The Fillmore 6. LGBT Center 7. Museum of the African Diaspora 8. SFMOMA Business & Tech 9. Dolby 10. Facebook 11. Google 12. LucasFilm 13. Sony 14. Twitter Farmers Markets 15. Heart of the City 16. Ferry Plaza 17. Outer Sunset Nature 18. Alamo Square 19. Baker Beach 20. Botanical Garden 21. Conservatory of Flowers 22. Crissy Field 23. Land’s End 24. Mt. Sutro Open Space Reserve 25. Salesforce Park Explore San Francisco 2 San Francisco Conservatory of Music
At SFCM, we are lifelong leaders and learners. As a professional school, we are committed to providing an extraordinary education that prepares our graduates to pursue fully engaged lives as citizens of the world. Our core mission is to transform our students: artistically, intellectually, professionally, and individually. As the only conservatory with a leading artist management company, Opus 3 Artists, and a distinguished record label, Pentatone, your music education will be incomparable. At SFCM, we educate the whole person, nurturing students who are world-class musicians on a technical level, with a powerful vision and the tools to manifest that vision in the world.
3
Learn more about our audition process and scholarship opportunities on our website.
Since being founded in 1917 by two pioneering women, we’ve built upon a legacy of ingenuity by connecting with local music organizations and tech hubs. The SF Symphony, Ballet, Opera, and SFJAZZ are steps away from campus and employ many of our faculty and alumni. Our Silicon Valley neighbors—Sony, Dolby, Google, and Apple—are partners and collaborators.
Join a community of over 450 artists from 34 countries shaping the future.
The Next Generation of Musical Leaders
Creatives shine in San Francisco. The city we call home has a long history of welcoming innovators and groundbreakers who bring their big ideas and expand them into gamechanging art, technology, and businesses. Our curriculum and collaborations at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music share that DNA.
500+ performances each year at SFCM 450 total students enrolled 60 community partners for student performance and teaching opportunities 35 studio faculty performing with SF Symphony, Opera, Ballet, and Jazz ensembles SFCM By the Numbers faculty-student ratio • The only accredited music conservatory in northern California • Dedicated faculty provide direct access to all of SF’s premier art organizations 99% of students receive SFCM scholarships 24/7 practice rooms in the Bowes Center 3 divisions of study: classical, jazz, technology 3 Bachelor of Music concentrations: business, teaching, and technology 259 days of sunny skies (70% of the SFto5-minuteyear)walkSFSymphony,Opera,SFJAZZ,andothertheatres 4 San Francisco Conservatory of Music
FINANCIAL AID college is substantial financial
aid process so you can achieve your dreams. Check out our website for more information on: • Scholarships & Grants • Tuition & Fees • Applying for Aid • Loans • Work Opportunities • Veteran Educational Benefits 2 professional development credits required for all majors “
So,
We know
investment. We’re here to help you navigate the
a
. ” Solanch Sosa, ’22 Violin VISIT SFCM.EDU/COSTS-FINANCIAL-AID TO LEARN MORE. average percentage of tuition covered by scholarshipsSFCM 60% 5
I started playing violin at age seven in Cuba. When my family immigrated to the United States several years later, the cost of continuing my music education became a challenge, as my Spanish-speaking parents struggled to cover our family’s basic needs with minimum-wage jobs. for the past ten years, I practiced with the hope of earning a scholarship. When I received my acceptance letter to SFCM and a generous scholarship, it was one of the happiest moments in my life
03 SF Ballet
02
01 Ann Getty Center for Education (SFCM’s Getty Center)
SFCM’s facility at 50 Oak Street opened in 2006 and has 60 teaching spaces, 29 practice rooms, a cafe, and 3 performance spaces designed to showcase more than 500 yearly performances.
05 SF Opera
The Center of Arts in San Francisco
The Ute and William K. Bowes, Jr. Center for Performing Arts (SFCM’s Bowes Center)
SFCM’s new 12-story music education and performance hub combines student housing, practice rooms, performance spaces, recording studios, and Classical KDFC radio.
SFJAZZ Center
The city’s GRAMMY Award-winning orchestra is led by Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen. Most principal players are on the SFCM faculty.
06 SF Symphony
SFCM is a long-time partner, with extensive overlap between faculty and Collective members and side-by-side performance opportunities.
Our neighborhood is the heart of arts and culture in the city.
One of the world’s leading dance companies is also a frequent SFCM collaborator. SFCM faculty members are part of the SF Ballet Orchestra and students from the SF Ballet School live alongside SFCM students in the Bowes Center. In 2022, the two organizations partnered to form the Denis de Coteau Fellowship to advance opportunities for Black musicians.
04
This internationally renowned company is known for commissioning numerous world premieres and training the next generation of opera stars. Numerous faculty and alumni are ingrained with this company through initiatives like the historic Merola Opera Program and Adler Fellowship Program.
07 Sydney Goldstein Theater 08 Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 09 Asian Art Museum 10 Orpheum Theater 6 San Francisco Conservatory of Music
MarketStreet VanNessAvenue McAllister Street Oak Street FranklinStreet City Hall VeteransBuilding Civic Center Hayes Valley SFLibraryPublic Bay Area Rapid Transit 03 070605 02 10 09 08 01 04 7
This new 12-story, $200 million+, award-winning building in the core of the SF Arts scene transforms the city’s cultural landscape through street-level and rooftop performance spaces and a cutting-edge recording studio. 90% of concerts here are free and open to the public!
ANN GETTY CENTER FOR EDUCATION
This one-of-a-kind building contains modern apartmentstyle residences, the Classical KDFC radio broadcasting studio, and a restaurant lounge that allows for live student performances. Built with the community and environment in mind, the building’s design and construction complies with SF’s groundbreaking green building ordinance.
Your New Home For Music
Our facilities at 50 Oak Street house acoustically mastered spaces (including practice rooms, teaching and recording studios, and concert halls) tailored to specific sound requirements. The building is also home to more than 100 Steinway and Yamaha pianos, a collection of Baroque instruments, and the historic Harris Guitar Collection.
8 San Francisco Conservatory of Music
SEE FOR YOURSELF
THE BOWES CENTER
From our beautiful concert halls to the cutting-edge tech of Studio G, explore our campus yourself! Scan the QR code to get started.
Meet the first “vertical campus.”
State-of-the-art studios and classrooms designed for the best audio and learning experience.
Compose, practice, perform, and record.
We changed global music education in 2020 by acquiring management company Opus 3 Artists, home to over 250 top musicians and ensembles like Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, Branford Marsalis, Stephanie Blythe, and Chanticleer. Masterclasses, recording sessions, and side-by-sides with members of the Opus 3 roster are only the beginning of our work together to invent the future of performances.
Yo-Yo Ma performing in SFCM’s Hume Hall.
9
In 2022, SFCM changed the game again by acquiring GRAMMY-winning record label Pentatone, giving them a foothold on the West Coast to record and release music. This growing partnership with the two-time Label of the Year winner will give students firsthand experience with the recording and distribution process of a legendary label.
Two AAlliancesUniquenewmodelforamusicconservatory.
OPUS 3 ARTISTS
PENTATONE MUSIC
We are the only organization that combines world-class teaching, learning, and creative expression with a leading artist-management team and a GRAMMY-winning record label. This affords students access to peerless experiences in music education.
” David Stull President
“ These growing partnerships with Opus 3 and Pentatone are dedicated to supporting the finest artists of our time and cultivating the emerging talent of tomorrow. This is just the beginning.
Your AMattersVoiceDiverseMusicalCommunity
Jason Hainsworth Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Executive Director, Roots, Jazz, and American Music
“ My goal is to make SFCM—the school we love— a place where diverse voices are heard, represented, and embraced. ”
SFCM is committed to raising all voices. We champion the experiences of people who identify across spectrums of gender, sexual orientation, and race and integrate these experiences into our curriculum and performances.
Our Emerging Black Composers Project is a 10-year commitment to commission Black artists while providing them with mentorship and the opportunity to premiere new works at major orchestras. In a partnership with the SF Ballet, the Denis de Coteau Fellowship also advances opportunities for Black musicians by providing tuition, housing, stipends, and performance experiences.
From our Black Student Union and Pride Network to our eclectic student-led Moonlight Society, and our Hiking and Environmentalism club, our student groups provide safe spaces for musicians of all kinds.
10 San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Join a community where every voice is heard. Learn more at sfcm.edu/dei.
Every January, Winter Term allows you the chance to play in a way you haven’t before. It’s a weeks-long opportunity for students to immerse themselves in subjects beyond the standard curriculum. It’s a chance to learn about an interest you’ve never quite had time to explore or to give your career a head start by developing a business or technical skill. Experiment in a different genre, learn to DJ, or create your own concert, to name a few!
Our curriculum expands the typical conservatory education by preparing students for opportunities in the modern economy. Our faculty are not just world-class teachers, but working musicians and industry leaders, providing unrivaled mentorship, connections, and guidance.
MORE THAN JUST TECHNIQUE
11
Courses like our Finance for Musicians class are designed to set you up for success as part of our Professional Development and Engagement Center which readies the artist as a whole for the working world of music. Our Technology and Applied Composition program has one of the strongest job placement rates for music conservatory graduates anywhere.
SFCM promotes real-world experience, encouraging students to book gigs and perform at venues on campus, like at the Bowes Center, and off campus at SF venues. Our deep symphony, ballet, opera, and jazz connections also give you the chance for side-byside performances and our tight-knit studios and small class sizes provide plenty of one-on-one instruction.
SFCM offers undergraduate students the option to pursue a concentration in business, teaching, or technology. These concentrations serve as an opportunity for students to focus on an area of interest and build a larger skill set. Once completed, concentrations will be indicated on transcripts and visible to future employers and graduate programs.
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX: WINTER TERM
Curriculum
THE FUTURE IN YOUR HANDS
“
Our composition department provides students with faculty mentorship and frequent performance and workshop opportunities, including readings of your work, a student-led new music festival, art
COMPOSITION
song competition, and the large ensemble and chamber cycles.
With only one or two students in the program at a time, our conducting program guarantees students the high-level guidance and performance opportunities—in conjunction with the Conservatory orchestra and other
ensembles—required to become successful and well-rounded conductors.
SFCM.EDU/CONDUCTING
Areas of Study
” Meng Su Faculty, Guitar, member of Beijing Guitar Duo
SFCM.EDU/COMPOSITION
SFCM.EDU/GUITAR
I remember the first day that I received my faculty badge, and the excitement and the responsibility that I felt. I’m proud to be a member of SFCM.
numerous performance opportunities (especially in chamber music) within the Conservatory. The guitar program honors the historic tradition of classical guitar while cultivating innovation with guitar graduates succeeding on and off the performance stage.
CONDUCTING
CLASSICAL GUITAR
SFCM’s guitar department has produced some of the top guitarists in the world, including winners of the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition. Spearheaded by an all-star, international faculty with expertise ranging from early music to cutting-edge modern work, this program also offers access to the historic Harris Guitar Collection and
12 San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Roots, Jazz, and American Music is a firstof-its-kind program that links a world-class music conservatory to an award-winning jazz concert venue in SFJAZZ. Building on the legacy of alumni like Julian Lage and George Duke, programs offer all-star faculty, visits and classes from world-class touring artists, and real-world opportunities at some
SFCM.EDU/STRINGS
Whether on keyboards, baroque violin, viola, cello, viola da gamba, or historical plucked strings, Historical Performance students learn from faculty with ties to leading early music organizations like the American Bach
of the Bay Area’s leading jazz venues. Our interconnected courses are built to transform you intellectually, artistically, professionally, and individually. You’ll understand the roots of your music, freeing you to take it somewhere new.
Students of our wide-ranging piano department—and intimate and dynamic harpsichord, organ, and collaborative piano programs—develop their style alongside celebrated faculty and visiting luminaries, including recent guest artists Yuja Wang, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Daniil Trifonov.
HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE
”
Edwin Outwater SFCM’s Music Director Faculty, Conducting
13
SFCM.EDU/KEYBOARD
Made up of fewer than 50 students, this department prides itself on individualized attention for each pianist, as well as extraor dinary instruments including New York and Hamburg Steinway Ds in every concert hall.
ROOTS, JAZZ, AND AMERICAN MUSIC (RJAM)
SFCM.EDU/RJAM
PIANO/KEYBOARDS
STRINGS
Home to the world’s best young string players, our strings program provides a variety of solo, ensemble, and orchestra performance opportunities, in addition to backstage access to the San Francisco Symphony, Ballet, and Opera.
Soloists and San Francisco Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale.
SFCM.EDU/HISTORICAL-PERFORMANCE
“ I came to the becauseConservatorythey’re looking towards the future.
14 San Francisco Conservatory of Music
SFCM.EDU/STRING-AND-PIANO-CHAMBER
for the public with acclaimed industry professionals and faculty.
The technology found in our TAC spaces is so impressive, the Recording Academy held a listening event in our studio for the GRAMMY Awards. Our graduates are scoring Super Bowl commercials, developing audio at huge tech companies, and producing hit songs with some of the biggest stars in music today.
The nation’s first graduate String and Piano Chamber Music program provides a yearround focus on chamber music, featuring workshops, masterclasses, and concerts
STRING & PIANO CHAMBER MUSIC
TECHNOLOGY & APPLIED COMPOSITION (TAC)
Each semester visiting artists from Sony Interactive Entertainment work with SFCM TAC students to compose scores for a fictitious video game. The project exposes students to professionals and what life is like in the industry. Working directly with Sony staff, students respond to a prompt that guides them through a narrative arc, enabling them to bring a score to life in their own, unique ways.
The TAC program gives students a direct path into the worlds of audio engineering, film scoring, video game sound design, and other rewarding musical avenues. Featuring instruction from some of the most visible composers in the industry today, the TAC program readies you for a cutting-edge artistic life that bridges art and technology in the most dynamic ways imaginable.
THE SONY PROJECT
SFCM.EDU/TAC
Made up of principal brass chairs of the San Francisco Symphony, local ensemble leaders, as well as principal players of the San Francisco Opera and Ballet orchestras, the close-knit studio of our woodwinds, brass, and percussion department guarantees
individualized instruction, performance opportnities, and industry connections.
Our celebrated faculty will hone your technique and expand your artistry through private voice lessons, studio classes, and professional development courses to help you grow into a business-savvy, well-rounded artist. Our deep ties to SF Opera include its Adler Fellowship and Merola programs, some of the best young artist initiatives in the country. Students also participate in multiple
fully staged opera productions a year from Giulio Cesare to The Enchanted Pig. Far more than just your voice, the curriculum also centers on acting and diction skills–and even stage combat–to prepare you for a complete career on stage.
WOODWINDS, BRASS, PERCUSSION
SFCM.EDU/VOICE
“
Focus less on perfection in technique and more on what you are trying to say with the music. Go out on a limb, be vulnerable. Impress your audience with the intensity of your music-making.
Cathy Payne Faculty, Flute
SFCM.EDU/ADMISSIONS 15
VOICE
SFCM.EDU/PERCUSSIONSFCM.EDU/BRASSSFCM.EDU/WOODWINDS
”
atPerformEnsembleswithyourpeersthehighestlevel. 16 San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Perform in two annual concerts that draw from foundational composers like Edgard Varèse and contemporary icons such as Steve Reich.
“Two roles were written for opera singers, and the other six roles for more musical theatre-type performances,” said Heather Mathews, the chair of the Opera and Musical Theatre program. “It required the cast to portray several different characters, so it was a great tool for expanding the performers’ range,” she added.
Opera and Musical Theatre
Percussion Ensemble
Ensembles big and small perform timeless music from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Experience a complete overview of classical repertoire and perform multiple concerts a year that prominently feature student soloists.
With individual coaching by industry leaders, this ensemble explores wide-ranging music literature in multiple performances each year.
This highly selective and intentionally small ensemble is the nation’s first such program at the graduate level.
Baroque Ensemble
Guitar Ensemble
SFCM Orchestra
New Music Ensemble
A program that produces four fully staged opera and musical theatre productions with full or chamber orchestra.
VIEW ALL PERFORMANCES AT SFCM.EDU/PERFORMANCES
17
String and Piano Chamber Music
Chorus
Perform a variety of works written in the 20th and 21st centuries in concert with leading contemporary composers and premiere works by fellow students.
Explore new and traditional music in an ensemble that has a legacy of world premieres and commissions through a department with a worldclass faculty and visiting artists.
Stand out as an individual (thanks to significant solo opportunities) while collaborating as part of a cohesive vocal ensemble.
Get to know a handful of the ensembles available at SFCM.
Jazz Ensemble
Delve into every configuration of jazz group from small combos on up with close supervision from RJAM faculty in Jazz Seminar, Big Band, and Latin Jazz Ensemble.
Woodwind and Brass Chamber Music
Recent ensemble concert highlights include Opera and Musical Theatre’s 2022 presentation of The Enchanted Pig.
“The Bowes Center is a safe space that actually gives the students and faculty the preconditions for creativity.”
Yo-Yo Ma Opus 3 Artist
“When I told my professor about my focal dystonia condition, he was incredibly optimistic, telling me that I was going to be fine and that we’d work through it together. I didn’t feel the same way, but at that moment, a message of hope was all I needed to hear from him— I truly felt I’d be supported. He really changed everything for me.”
Here’s what some of your future peers and mentors are saying about SFCM, music, and life.
Michelle Sung, ’21 Flute
18 San Francisco Conservatory of Music
You’re in Good Company
19
Wilford Kelly, ’20 Voice, Bass-Baritone SF Opera Chorus
“Besides my mother, my next greatest mentor is my teacher, César Ulloa. He’s shaped so much of the artist and musician I am today, and I am so grateful to him for being such a rock in what can be such a tumultuous career path.”
"We all have something to say with our instruments, and our place to find in this world. In the end, music is what matters."
Emmanuel Ceysson Faculty, Harp
“I learned how to play the oboe in undergrad and post-grad, but I learned how to be a musician at SFCM.”
Andrew Port, ’22 Oboe, Civic Orchestra of Chicago
The San Francisco Conservatory of Music is committed to creating a challenging and nurturing environment where you can carve a path for a rewarding and exciting profession. Connect with us— on campus or online—as we work together to define what it means to be a 21st-century musician.
20 San Francisco Conservatory of Music
VISIT SFCM, YOUR NEW HOME
TRANSFORM — INTELLECTUALLY, ARTISTICALLY, PROFESSIONALLY, AND INDIVIDUALLY
@san-francisco-conservatory-of-music@SanFranciscoConservatoryOfMusic@SFConservMusic@SFConservMusic@sfconservmusic@sfconservmusicCONNECT WITH US ADMISSIONS San50apply@sfcm.eduOakStreetFrancisco,CA 94102 (415) Questions503-6271about admissions, attending a performance or giving to SFCM? Ask our chatbot at sfcm.edu/admissions
THE FUTURE OF MUSIC IS Now.
Learn more or apply to SFCM www.sfcm.edutoday.