Saturday, Oct 18: Commissioning Circle Event
Please join us for a very special fundraising event celebrating the creation of new classical music and supporting the SFCO’s active commissioning program. Meet nationally-renowned composer Gabriela Frank, our new Composer in Residence, who will talk about her background, musical influences and artistic process and perform selected works with Maestro Ben Simon.
“Amazing… fascinating… Gabriela is really brilliant at explaining how she composes… I learned so much by listening to her!.. audience quotes from our previous Commissioning Circle events in Berkeley and Palo Alto.
This event is being hosted in a private home in Pacific Heights and is free to attend. Guests will be asked to consider a donation to the Commissioning Circle at any level. Space is extremely limited. Please RSVP here by Oct 17th.
Sunday, Oct 25: our very first Very First concert 
@ Crowden Music Center’s annual Community Music Day 11am, 11:40, and 12:20: 1475 Rose Street, Berkeley
Developed in partnership with the Crowden Music Center in Berkeley, these delightful 20-minute concerts for ages 0-6 teach musical concepts, offer hands-on activities and encourage lots of movement and dancing. Starting our second season of concerts for our youngest listeners, this program highlights the great Hungarian composer, Bela Bartok, and his Roumanian Folk Dances!
Crowden opens its doors at 10am to the entire community for their annual Community Music Day. It’s a lot of fun for you and your young ones: visit the instrument petting zoo, watch demonstrations, and of course attend one of three Very First Concerts presented by your favorite chamber orchestra in the auditorium at 11am, 11:40, and 12:20.
Monday, Oct 26: Classical @ the Freight presents Percussion 
Fest 2
8pm @ the new Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison St, Berkeley
Back by popular demand, three of the Bay Area’s top stick and mallet men return to Classical @ the Freight to perform an exciting array of 20th and 21st century music written for various & sundry percussion instruments. Featuring Loren Mach, Chris Froh, and Daniel Kennedy. This is a ticketed event: $8.50 in advance, $9.50 at the door, and SFCO members get two tickets for the price of one!
Nov 7 & 8 Family Concert #1: Meet the Composers
The SFCO takes you on a musical voyage to meet Mr. Vivaldi, Mr. Beethoven, and Ms. Gabriela Lena Frank, the orchestra’s brand-new, first-ever Composer in Residence. This program also features noted local actor Thomas Flynn, two wigs, young cellists Nathan Chan and Chloe Lula, two hip-hop dancers, side-by-side participants from three top Bay Area youth orchestras, and the top-notch professional musicians of the Bay Area’s premiere chamber orchestra. Click here for more information.
your favorite SFCO musician… well, in spirit at least! All of our adorable, talented players are eligible for adoption this season with the exception of our principal double bassist, Michel Taddei, who has already been snapped up by a savvy Berkeley music-lover. No room & board or college tuition payments required – just a desire to support your favorite chamber orchestra and have a bit of fun in the process. Stay tuned for details on this exciting new program. 
in Vallejo, Benicia, Hercules, Napa, American Canyon, Fairfield, Concord, Pleasant Hill, or Pittsburgh? The SFCO is making its debut performances in Vallejo this season, thanks to a very generous grant from the Irvine Foundation. Our new home in the North Bay is the beautifully restored Empress Theatre in downtown Vallejo, and we want you to tell all your friends in the area about our fresh, fun, first-rate, and FREE classical music performances. 
Welcome to our new season. After months of planning, our very first Very First Concert is right around the corner, with our first Family Concert, Meet the Composers, close behind. I’m very excited to be starting up again, and feel that this will be a very important season for the SFCO. Our organization is growing up in many ways – with out first full-time employee, new Executive Director Colleen Marlow, a strong and growing Board of Directors, a band that gets better every year, a burgeoning membership program – this year will mark an important turning point for us. 
