By now, Bay Area audiences know to expect the unexpected on SF Music Day, a free all-day concert, soon to celebrate its 17th year, that’s become an annual community event.
For the curators and artists participating in the program — which this year will be held from noon to 7 p.m. on Oct. 20 in the War Memorial Veterans Building’s Herbst Theatre, Green Room, and Taube Atrium Theater — it’s just as stimulating.
Crystal Pascucci-Clifford, executive director of InterMusic SF, the organization that produces the event, told SF Classical Voice: “SF Music Day’s program encourages curiosity, provides an environment for exploration, and is designed to reveal and embrace the physical nature of sound.
“It also cultivates the kind of vulnerability that fosters community connection through shared musical experiences. This year’s SF Music Day is envisioned as a way for audience members, staff, artist-workers, performers, artists, literally everyone present, to experience performances and sound creation together.”
For the full list of participating artists and the schedule of performances, visit InterMusic SF’s website.
Sidney Chen, who guest-curated the 2024 lineup, said, “I’ve designed the day as a journey, with [percussionist] Karen Stackpole getting the air in the lobby vibrating with her gongs to mark the start, midpoint, and end of the event.
“To conclude the event, we’ll have a community-wide vocalization led by [conductor] Ash Walker, before sending everyone back out onto the streets of San Francisco to the sound of West African drumming by Heartbeat of Oakland Drums.
“I’d love for people to come with curiosity, to delight in discovery with a community of fellow Bay Area music lovers, and to emerge feeling nourished from a day of rich conversations with artists and their art.”
Chen — a bass-baritone and music producer who has collaborated with artists across disciplines, including composers Meredith Monk and Anne Hege, San Francisco’s ODC/Dance Company, and many others — emphasized the family-friendly experience of SF Music Day, “which is essential for the building of a new generation of audience members.
“In planning the festival, we thought about how fantastic it is when a child comes into a room and sees an instrument that they have never seen before and then hear a sound they’ve never heard before. You never know what’s going to tickle their ear, and we’re excited to provide opportunities for experiences like that.”
Chen continued: “It’s a collective effort, drawing on our various areas of expertise and knowledge of our individual communities, to develop a full day of music with performers from a wide range of genres and traditions, including string quartets, jazz quintets, a Celtic harp-Chinese zither duo, and singer-songwriter Diana Gameros.
“One area where I have been able to contribute, thanks to more than 25 years performing as a singer in the Bay Area, is in vocal music. There is a special emphasis on singing this year, ranging from Chelsea Hollow’s Cycles of Resistance project to Bethany Hill’s merging of Barbara Strozzi with folk music and electronics, from Simon Barrad’s recital of songs on the American experience to Roco Córdova’s extended technique and improvisation work.”
SF Music Day remains a free event, though reservations are suggested and contributions are also accepted. Support comes from the City and County of San Francisco through Grants for the Arts (GFTA) and other agencies, but these funds cover only one-third of the cost of producing the program.
A staff of three employees and a dedicated board of directors fundraise for the bulk of the required financial resources. The restructuring of GFTA handouts for the 2024–2025 season cut SF Music Day’s previous support in half.
Some of the event’s major contributors are the Mervyn L. Brenner, Fleishhacker, William and Flora Hewlett, Ross McKee, and Phyllis C. Wattis Foundations, as well as AlTi Tiedemann Global, JPMorgan Chase, and SSL Law Firm.
