Meet Radu Paponiu, SF Symphony Youth Orchestra’s new music director
Step away from the hustle of last-minute shopping and enjoy a show that captures the warmth and wonder of the season.
On a Saturday afternoon in early October, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra convened for their third rehearsal of the season. Radu Paponiu, the YO’s newly appointed Wattis Foundation Music Director, took the Davies Symphony Hall stage with Harry Jo, a high-school violinist who won the 2023–24 Concerto Competition on his second instrument, alto saxophone. At the downbeat, they ripped into Takashi Yoshimatsu’s Cyber Bird Concerto, a jazz-influenced Japanese work from 1994. The saxophone, brilliant and a bit cheeky, wove over a rapid drumbeat laid down by the percussion section. The strings joined in a swell, responding to the soloist’s lines, and sharp piano chords urged it all along. After an impressive read-through, Paponiu flipped back to work on the very first note.
“No hesitation! All together!” he tells the double basses, who ground the first bar with a low pizzicato C. What first sounded like a racket of notes comes together as a collective snap on the second try. Then Paponiu turns to a cacophonous, free-jazz section that asks members of the orchestra to improvise. He works through it until the crescendo takes the right climactic shape...
On the Stage
Even though flurries may be missing in the Bay Area, snow is falling on the stage. Capture the magic of the season through the performing arts.
A Whynot Christmas Carol
Theatre | American Contemporary Theater
Now – December 24 | Tickets
A small theatre troupe in the town of Whynot has gathered to put up their director’s new version of A Christmas Carol. From the first rehearsal to opening night, we follow these sometimes-reluctant comrades on their quest to put on a great show with too little time and money but no shortage of opinions.
More Events
- The Matchbox Magic Flute | Berkeley Repertory Theatre | Now – December 15 | View the Program
- Elf in Concert | San Francisco Symphony | Now – December 21 | View the Program
- Holiday Spectacular | San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus at Cal Performances | December 21
Next Line
We’ve got cast announcements and artistic partnerships to look forward to after the holidays end.
- Berkeley Repertory Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for Olivier Award-winner Conor McPherson’s acclaimed adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. Tony Award winner John Benjamin Hickey joins previously announced Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Hugh Bonneville in this production, directed by Shakespeare Theatre Company Artistic Director Simon Godwin. A co-production with the Shakespeare Theatre Company of Washington, DC, Uncle Vanya will run at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre from February 14 through March 23, 2025.
- San Francisco Ballet has announced details of its 2025 partnership with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), including the annual commission of a large-scale curtain drop for the War Memorial Opera House. For the 2024/25 season, Bay Area artist Ranu Mukherjee will create the curtain drop for SF Ballet’s Cool Britannia program, running February 13–19, 2025. Additionally, the partnership will feature talks and performances throughout 2025 in celebration of the Legion of Honor’s 100th anniversary.
