SFCM Ensemble Scores San Francisco Silent Film Festival's 30th Year
This is the second year musicians from the Conservatory have helped breathe life into the beloved San Francisco Silent Film Festival.
SFCM students perform at the Orinda Theatre at the 12025 San Francisco Silent Film Festival.
SFCM students rehearse the score to "The Gold Rush" at the Orinda Theatre.
Other than classical music, few things in life have aged as well as Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush. Despite turning 100 years old this year, Chaplin's classic slapstick remains a (very funny) hallmark of Hollywood history, and in November, SFCM helped wish it a happy centennial.
As part of the Conservatory's ongoing collaboration with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival—celebrating its third decade of existence this year—an ensemble of 14 students and alumni performed the film's score for a sold-out opening-night audience at the historic Orinda Theatre, built in 1941.
"It's an honor to collaborate with the SF Silent Film Festival, and I'm deeply grateful for this partnership that we've nurtured since coming back from lockdown in the 2021-2022 season," SFCM's Director of Ensemble Operations Abbey Springer says. "This experience opens our students up to other forms of music and art, and exposes them to truly wonderful artists and timeless films. I really adore working with the SF Silent Film team, and I felt much gratitude this year that we were chosen to be the music to open the festival!"
The Orinda Theatre.
The SFSFF team feels similarly. "The student musicians are top-notch and our festival veterans, musicians, and composers who have years of experience accompanying silent films sing their praises," Artistic Director Anita Monga said. "It is deeply gratifying to be able to introduce such talented young people to the enchanting art form of live cinema," she added.
One such person was SFCM bassist Ben Byham, who studies with Scott Pingel. "This was a fantastic, amazing, and terrifying experience," he says. "Playing for a silent film originally released 100 years ago came with a whole set of challenges, from stylistic choices to precise and fluid tempo changes that we just don't get a lot of experience with in modern performance practice. I'm so grateful to live in an area that provides great and unique opportunities such as this!"
Called "the funniest picture made since the movies began" by the San Francisco Examiner upon its release, The Gold Rush wasn't originally released with a score, though it was re-released in 1942 with music by the director and actor himself. Decades later, in 2007, Timothy Brock, called "THE silent-film music guru" by VOGUE, arranged the score for smaller chamber orchestras. Brock is a familiar face to both the Festival and SFCM, having conducted Conservatory ensembles for SFSFF in years prior.
Learn more about studying at SFCM.