Areas of Study

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.

Meng Su Faculty, Guitar, member of Beijing Guitar Duo

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 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.

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COMPOSITION

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 song competition, and the large ensemble and chamber cycles.

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CONDUCTING

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.

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HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE

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 Soloists and San Francisco Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale.

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PIANO/KEYBOARDS

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. Made up of fewer than 50 students, this department prides itself on individualized attention for each pianist, as well as extraordinary instruments including New York and Hamburg Steinway Ds in every concert hall.

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ROOTS, JAZZ, AND AMERICAN MUSIC (RJAM)

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 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.

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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.

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I came to the Conservatory because they’re lookingtowards the future.

Edwin Outwater SFCM’s Music Director Faculty, Conducting

STRING & PIANO CHAMBER MUSIC

The nation’s first graduate String and Piano Chamber Music program provides a yearround focus on chamber music, featuring workshops, masterclasses, and concerts for the public with acclaimed industry professionals and faculty.

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TECHNOLOGY & APPLIED COMPOSITION (TAC)

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 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.

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THE SONY PROJECT

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.

WOODWINDS, BRASS, PERCUSSION

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.

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VOICE

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.

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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