While the cost of living keeps going up, the San Francisco Civic Music Association has made sure that its concerts remain absolutely free. Founded in 1931 by Rosalie Meyer Stern and Josephine D. Randall, the organization, which consists of three all-volunteer orchestras — the San Francisco Civic Symphony, Civic Strings, and Mozart to Mendelssohn (M2M) — not only provides a place for musicians of all skill levels and experiences to play together but also offers free concerts to the community.
The first of the organization’s five concerts this spring and summer is an afternoon of chamber music on May 11 at Noe Valley Ministry. On May 19, Civic Strings, led by this season’s guest music director, Michelle Maruyama, presents a program titled “Romantic Favorites” at First Baptist Church of San Francisco. On June 2, the Civic Symphony, helmed by Music Director Brad Hogarth, takes to the stage of Herbst Theatre in a program dubbed “Unconquerable Spirits.” And more chamber music is on tap for June 15.
Then, on June 23, John Kendall Bailey leads M2M at Herbst in “Classical Idols,” a program that will feature Haydn’s Overture to The Creation, Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3, and Brahms’s Symphony No. 1. Bailey has been with M2M since 2016, two years after its founding by Thomas Alexander, and said that the focus of the ensemble is on the music of the 18th and 19th centuries.
A graduate of UC Berkeley, Bailey, who has held positions such as principal conductor of the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra, among others, is also a baritone and composer. He lauds the virtues of SF Civic Music. “That’s one of the wonderful things about this organization. It’s set up to be both an organization that presents all-free concerts to the community but also provides a place for people to play for free.”
Bailey went on to say that, unlike many community music groups, SF Civic Music has no auditions or fees. “We ask if [participants] can donate something to support the group financially, but if somebody doesn’t have the money, they can still play. We provide the opportunity for community musicians to play for free.”
Bailey added that he is paid — “but not a lot. The [other] music directors and the concertmasters are also compensated. The orchestra managers, librarians, the board, people who run the staff and book the concerts and venues — [this is] all done by volunteers.”
Bailey explained that M2M has about 75 members. “The wonderful thing is that you have [everyone from] college students to people who are retired. You have all these different stories: people who haven’t played in years, who played in high school and college and, seven or eight years later, they want to get back to it, [and even] people who played 40 years ago.
“When I work with professional players,” Bailey continued, “I love that [music] is the focus of their lives. But a community orchestra, they’re doing it because they love music and [play] for fun. They’re not quite at the level of professionals [because] if they were, they would be doing that. But they’re really quite good. A lot of times they are brilliant and could be [for example] a tech mogul. My point is that they’re not just musicians. They have other brilliant lives. I love how these people can meet up together in the same room and play music.”
As for M2M’s June program, Bailey explained his choices and how they’re connected: “It starts with Haydn, and Beethoven studied with Haydn a little bit. He knew Haydn as a symphonist. While Beethoven broke a lot of new ground, he looked up to Haydn. Someone in the orchestra thought it would be fun to do Brahms’s First Symphony, [which some] people refer to as Beethoven’s 10th. It took [Brahms] 20 years to finish it — to shake off the ghost of Beethoven looking over his shoulder.
“Each piece follows the next, and they are all in C major and minor. I wasn’t looking for connections at first,” added Bailey, “but when I did look, I saw a common link. [Each piece] also opens with a huge chord with a strong timpani downbeat.”
While tickets are free, audience donations between $10 and $20 are encouraged. Bailey pointed out that there are regular attendees. “Another fun thing about community groups is that they’ll bring friends and family — some of their own audience. We have a core group of people that like to come to our concerts, and we get a pretty good crowd. Some will come back after the concert and say hello. I also make remarks in the concert [where] I can address everybody.
“For me,” Bailey stressed, “as a missionary for music, if you will, it’s even more wonderful when people leave having learned something about the pieces — why they’re significant. Whatever that musical motif might be that ties them together, it helps develop [audiences’] understanding of classical music.
“There’s an incredible energy and excitement when nonprofessional musicians create close to a professional experience and capture the heart of the music. That is so inspiring, that is special — to come away with awareness.”