San Francisco Conservatory of Music

08/27/2026

Today we are proud to unveil a new visual identity for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

SFCM has evolved into an accelerator of creativity where students execute bold ideas with imagination and determination. Our updated identity brings our public look into alignment with this reality.

You belong at SFCM. Whether a student, a concert-goer, a member of our esteemed faculty, or a visiting artist, we invite you to experience the future of music.

➡️ Explore our fresh look: sfcm.edu.

08/26/2026

"After a few years of weekly voice lessons, Moafi received a full scholarship to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, graduating in 2007.

By her final year, she had performed Susanna in 'The Marriage of Figaro' and was 'on that path to go to young-apprenticeship programs and young-artist programs,' Moafi said. But a bout with vocal fatigue made her 'sort of neurotic about vocal health and care … and I craved more opportunities for theatrical expression without the constant worry of the voice.'

Moafi’s acting talent was always evident, said former teacher Bobby Weinapple, who met Moafi in his Acting for Singers course at the conservatory.

'She understood more than a lot of people that acting is at the heart of great singing,' Weinapple recalled. 'That it was important to not just sound pretty, but to understand the character and situation.'"

Read the full San Francisco Chronicle feature on Voice alum—and 2026 Emmy nominee for her work in HBO's "The Pitt"—Sepideh Moafi below. ⬇️

From Bay Area student to “The Pitt” Emmy nominee, Sepideh Moafi’s journey shows the lasting power of school arts programs.

08/24/2026

An eight-year veteran of SFCM's Pre-College Guitar program, A***n Shrivastava filmed an appearance on NPR's "From the Top" series before packing his bags for his freshman year at Pomona College as a computer science major.

"Being featured nationally is exciting, of course, but it’s also incredibly helpful for college applications," Pre-College Guitar Department Chair Scott Cmiel told From the Top.

Shrivastava was named a From the Top Media Lab Fellow for their 2025-2026 season and is one of many SFCM students to have appeared on the show. Cmiel cultivated a relationship with the series after fielding a cold call seeking student performers from them in their very first season, 25 years ago. Via Cmiel, 16 SFCM students have appeared on From the Top.

🔗 Read more at the link in the comments about Shrivastava's microtonal composition work, his performance on the show, and how studying in the SFCM Pre-College can strengthen applications to colleges in any field.

08/21/2026

Please welcome Alam Khan of the Ali Akbar College of Music to our SFCM faculty!

The TAC Department’s Composer-Performer course will be taught by sarod player Alam Khan, son of Ali Akbar Khan, one of the most famed ambassadors of Hindustani music in modern times.

“TAC students spend a lot of time composing and working in computers,” TAC Executive Director Matt Levine says. “But they’re lacking in what I call ‘the embodiment of music’—the physical experience of playing and connecting with music ... Alam is absolutely the perfect person to teach that in TAC, because not only is he a profound master at Indian classical music ... but he’s done a lot of contemporary music, collaborating with artists like Beats Antique and Grand Tapestry.”

🔗 Read more at the link in our comments about how the sarod player is bringing thousands of years of improvising tradition to SFCM—and what that means for TAC students.

08/21/2026

Coming soon.

08/20/2026

Congratulations to graduate Donald Lee III (‘25), who has been named Music Director of Opera Memphis!

Lee graduated from SFCM with a Professional Studies Certificate in Conducting, studying with Music Director Edwin Outwater.

“It was a pleasure having Donald as a student at SFCM,” Outwater says. “He was already a fantastic coach and pianist when he arrived at SFCM so we focused on orchestral conducting while he was here. He absorbed things so well and now has a great way with singers and instrumentalists alike.”

🎵 Lee conducts the SFCM Orchestra in a November 2024 performance of Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet.”

🔗 Read more about Lee’s time at SFCM and his path to Memphis at the link in the comments.

08/18/2026

Over 15 years after its original premiere, Professor of Composition Mason Bates' "Mothership" came home.

Originally commissioned by the YouTube Symphony, the video site's parent company, Google, performed the piece via its employee orchestra—The Googler Orchestra—in August at the Computer History Museum.

"I've balanced a career writing for traditional forces like orchestra or chamber music with stretching and expanding the medium at the same time," Bates says. "'Mothership' did two things at once in that spirit: It incorporated techno beats and sound design within the orchestra, and it integrated improvisation into a couple of passages."

🔗 Read more about SFCM faculty Mason Bates and how a piece originally commissioned by the YouTube Symphony came home to Mountain View.

The mothership has landed.

08/17/2026

The sound of 23 guitars played on one stage. 🙌

This summer, guitarists ages 13-18 gathered from across the globe, including California, Florida, Maryland, and China, to study at the Summer@SFCM Guitar Workshop.

Students participated in lessons, workshops, masterclasses, and performances led by David Tanenbaum, Meng Su, and Marc Teicholz.

🎵 Capriol Suite by Peter Warlock (arr. Hirsh) and conducted by David Tanenbaum.

08/14/2026

A field trip from Cleveland to Colorado—all before the first day of school.

Incoming Conducting student Grace Wahlen (‘28) has already jump-started her first semester at SFCM, following Conservatory Music Director Edwin Outwater to performances with The Cleveland Orchestra and Colorado Symphony.

🔗 Tap the link below to learn more about Wahlen’s journey to San Francisco: from triple-majoring in horn, piano, and music ed, to being invited to observe 99-year-old conductor Herbert Blomstedt, and their upcoming SFCM podium debut on September 26th.

https://bit.ly/4i3SmTW

08/13/2026

In the room where brand-new opera happens.

Professor of Composition Jake Heggie, along with SFCM Voice students, workshopped his new opera “Judgement of Paris” at SFCM last spring over the course of three nights for a live audience.

With no lighting, staging, or scenery (besides San Francisco’s rolling skyline visible outside Osher Recital Hall), students had the opportunity to be part of creating a brand-new opera and witness the audience’s reaction in real-time.

It would be inaccurate to call it a once-in-a-lifetime experience, as SFCM students also helped workshop Heggie’s “Intelligence” in 2025.

Until next time, a twice-in-a-lifetime opportunity.