San Francisco Conservatory of Music

07/07/2025

Four SFCM students are remaking San Francisco’s live-performance landscape one ambitious show at a time. Their interactive series Art Is blends live music, dance, poetry, visual art, and even food.

The idea began during Winter Term 2025 when composers Peyton Dexter and Brayden Meng, violinist Zeke Sokoloff, and TAC creator Thomas Stenzel pitched a project that invited artists from every discipline to collaborate.

They staged a “proof of concept” recital this spring, pulled off for about $2,000 thanks to the enthusiastic support of the community. “The spring show was our proof of concept,” Meng says, “and also for us as a team to really refine our process.”

Stenzel adds, “I’ve seen many more interdisciplinary productions recently. That idea is growing, and in a city like San Francisco, a forward-thinking place, this kind of project is very much needed.” The quartet is already planning a bigger Art Is performance at SFCM this September.

Read more in the comments.

07/06/2025

This is what it’s all about 👏

SFCM Music Director on creating a positive and inspiring experience studying music.

07/03/2025

Michael Tilson Thomas has graced the stages of concert halls with his unique style for decades, dazzling audiences and inspiring young musicians.

Now, at 80, he has stepped away from the spotlight. But recently, he sat down with CBS News' Lesley Stahl to discuss his family history of show business, mentoring and directing young musicians, and the competitive element of his relationship with Leonard Bernstein.

Tilson Thomas was appointed Distinguished Professor of Music at SFCM in April of 2024, he has since returned for several coaching sessions working directly with students as well as a celebration concert at SFCM.

Tilson Thomas expressed his enjoyment in working with music students during the interview and where he got it from. “Both of my parents were teachers, my mother was an accomplished teacher... she changed a lot of lives.” Tilson Thomas told Stahl about the importance of educating the next generation of musicians.

Watch the full interview below 👇

Michael Tilson Thomas has graced the stages of concert halls with his unique style for decades, dazzling audiences and inspiring young musicians.

07/02/2025

SFCM is headed to The Metropolitan Opera stage.

Faculty composer Mason Bates’ new opera 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay' will open the Metropolitan Opera's 2025-2026 season. Inspired by Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the opera explores the “power of the imagination to overcome challenges.”

“Ever since I was an undergrad sneaking into The Met Opera, I've always dreamed of writing an opera for that amazing house,” Bates said.

Alumni Efrain Solis (’13) and Amina Edris (’15) will make their Met debuts as performers, and Roberto Kalb (’09) will debut as a conductor.

“Making your Met debut is something that every singer dreams about,” Solis said. “I feel even more excited that I get to make my debut in Mason Bates’ new opera.”

Read more in the comments.

06/30/2025

Two violin students from Wonhee Bae’s studio have a lot to celebrate this summer.

Shintaro Taneda, who finished his bachelor’s in 2023 and master’s this year, will join the Oregon Symphony this fall as a section violinist. “Shintaro has always shown a mature musicianship through his performances at the Chamber Music Tuesdays concerts,” Bae says. “I am very proud of his courage and this achievement.” During his time at SFCM he also studied with faculty violinist Nancy Zhou.

Meanwhile, Jeeihn Kim earned 1st place in the Berkeley Piano Club’s Van Waynen Competition, adding to her Concerto Competition win this spring. Bae calls the new prize “great recognition for Jeeihn’s hard work and dedication” and looks forward to her continued growth.

The Berkeley Piano Club is a historic East Bay venue and a familiar stage for SFCM performers.

Read more in the comments.

06/28/2025

Never doubt music’s power to change your life.

06/25/2025

It’s a whole new world for one recent SFCM graduate. 2025 flute graduate Lyric Rivera will be joining the New World Symphony as a fellow this fall.

While at SFCM Rivera studied with faculty Cathy Payne and Yubeen Kim.

“Lyric is a fantastic musician who came well-prepared to every lesson,” Kim said, who joined SFCM faculty in 2024. “It has been a true joy to teach her, and I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished together."

New World Symphony fellowships are very competitive with more than 1,500 recent music school and conservatory graduates competing for only about 35 available spots each year.

Read more in the comments.

06/24/2025

“In every human culture across time and place, including the indigenous people that lived in these regions, music was used for healing. Every human culture has used music for healing. In fact, an advertisement floated across my email yesterday, a woman advertising exactly that. It read, ‘Music doesn't just touch the emotions, it impacts the brain, the memory, even physiological processes. Through music, we can find joy, we can feel grounded, we can heal.’ Christopher Morley, a famous American poet, wrote that ‘In every person's heart, there is a secret nerve that answers to the vibrations of beauty.’

So on that note, haha, let me quote one of my colleagues who teaches music at a big name university on the East Coast. They have a medical program there as well, and so he says, to all music majors, ‘If we were in medical school and you were here as a med student practicing appendectomies, you would take your work very seriously because you can easily imagine that some night at 2:00 am in the morning, someone is going to be brought into the emergency room and you're going to have to save their life. Well, my friends, someday it will be 7:30 pm and someone is going to walk into your concert hall and bring you a mind that is full of confusion. A heart that's overwhelmed, and a soul that is weary. Whether that someone leaves with comfort and joy depends on how well you do your art.'

So as you go forth and continue on your journey, remember what music and beauty are capable of. Go out, inspire the people to come to your concerts and hear you bring them joy, bring them comfort, bring them wonder, perhaps even healing, which will make you a blessing to this world and to the people whose lives you traverse.

I wish all of you the very, very best on this day and on every single day of your life. Thank you very much.”

—Dr. Nikolaus Hohmann, Chair of SFCM’s Humanities and Sciences Department

📸 Victor Xie

06/23/2025

Class may not be in session, but SFCM students are still center stage.

RJAM students performed on stage as part of the San Francisco Jazz Festival.

“If you told me last year when I was still a senior at Burton, an SFUSD high school, that I'd have this chance, I wouldn't have believed you!” RJAM drummer Jaeden Baclay said. “To cap my freshman year at SFCM with this opportunity was such an honor,” he added.

Three students performed alongside RJAM Executive Director Jason Hainsworth, as well as SFCM faculty and SFJAZZ Collective members Warren Wolf and Matt Brewer kicking off the three-day San Francisco Jazz Festival, celebrating a weekend of jazz music put on by the SFJAZZ Center just steps away from SFCM.

Read the full story in the comments, including what faculty members Warren Wolf and Amelie Anna-Hinman had to say about the unique side-by-side performance.

06/18/2025

School’s out and summer’s in. But what happens to your practice when the pressure is off?

We asked 12 SFCM faculty members, including Awadagin Pratt, Warren Deck, Yubeen Kim, and Katherine Siochi, to share their best summer advice.

From trying new things to polishing fundamentals to finding your rhythm again, these ideas will help you stay connected to your craft and keep your love for music alive.

Find their tips in the comments.