San Francisco Opera breaks out of the pit for hands-on orchestra showcase

San Francisco Chronicle​

18-05-2025

This was no ordinary orchestra concert.
Sure there was a seated audience in the usual place, in front of the performers, but on this sunny, breezy afternoon, there were patrons also behind the musicians — lounging on couches. Some stood on walkways overhead, while a cluster of three boys wandered around the performance space during the show.
The concert, dubbed 'Soundcheck,' was so casual that two children even sat within the orchestra, one next to bassoonist Rufus Olivier, another next to oboist Gabriel Young.
But that's how the San Francisco Opera wanted it to be –– unpretentious, relaxed, family-friendly.
Music Director Eun Sun Kim had long wanted to get the San Francisco Opera Orchestra out of the pit at the War Memorial Opera House. And here they were on Saturday, May 17, at St. Joseph's Arts Society, a deconsecrated church on Howard Street, performing a free event for a crowd of 350 that welcomed everyone, from toddlers and Opera newbies to longtime patrons.
'People are aware that there's an orchestra without knowing very much about it. I want the orchestra to be seen,' Kim told the Chronicle before showtime.
Indeed, the musician thought it was refreshing to perform in such a way where 'we're more out in the open and the audience is really focusing on just us,' noted Asuka Annie Yano, a member of the violin section.
On the podium, with microphone in hand, Kim discussed the instruments of the orchestra, asking members of each section to play a short selection. Many in the audience recognized familiar tunes like 'Libiamo' from Verdi's ' La Traviata ' and ' The Ride of the Valkyries ' from Wagner's 'Die Walküre,' the latter a preview of what's to come as Kim plans to bring Wagner's epic 'Ring' cycle to the Opera House as part of her initiative to conduct Verdi and Wagner works each season.
'So often we only get to experience a live performance through a single vantage point. Eun Sun's invitation for the audience to move around the orchestra is an invitation to experience music-making in a dynamic, immersive relationship between artists and audience,' said Matthew Shilvock, the Opera's general director.
To close out the hourlong concert, Kim thrilled the audience with Benjamin Britten's 'The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra,' conducting while simultaneously pointing to and calling out which instruments were playing.
And what a way to close things out @SFOpera 🤯🎼🤩 pic.twitter.com/h096hBY5sM
— Mariecar Mendoza (@SFMarMendoza) May 17, 2025
Oscar Zheng traveled in from Oakland with his 7-year-old daughter Faith, who noted she particularly enjoyed the flutes.
'I like the tiny ones best,' she said, referring to the piccolo.
The orchestra and attendees mingled before and after the concert, too, learning about instruments directly from the musicians. Double-bassist Shinji Eshima demonstrated his instrument to one group of entranced children, while a few feet away, Zachariah Spellman showed just how loud a tuba can be.
'It is vitally important that our young people get an education in music and this is the perfect place and a great location to do it,' said San Franciscan Chi Energy, who emphasized the value of exposing younger generations 'so used to synthesize sounds' to 'real instruments with real people playing them.'
'I thought it was a great use of the space and they were fun to see. It seemed like an educational event in a lot of ways,' said John Hunt, also of San Francisco, who plays jazz trombone professionally. 'I've never been in this space before and it was a revelation to come in here. I'm so glad I came.'