Barbara Eden, the Iconic Star of NBC's I Dream of Jeannie TV Series and SFCM Pre-College Alumna, will be Honored by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with its Distinguished Alumni Award at its Annual Fanfare Luncheon, Friday, February 14

The Fanfare Luncheon takes place on Friday, February 14, at 12:00 PM in the Green Room at the San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center. A limited number of tickets to the fundraiser ($500-$1,000) are available for purchase at www.sfcm.edu/fanfare. 

The San Francisco native and classic TV and film icon will tour the SFCM campus and participate in a student-led Q&A during her visit.

The Fanfare Luncheon serves as a meaningful homecoming for Ms. Eden, who grew up in San Francisco and attended SFCM in the 1940s. She has many close ties to the city, including attending Abraham Lincoln High School and City College of San Francisco, and she was even named Miss San Francisco in 1951. Ms. Eden went on to star in more than 25 feature films, five network TV series, and 19 top-rated network made-for-television movies. She was most recently seen on screen in the 2019 holiday movie, My Adventures with Santa.

The fundraising luncheon will take place at 12:00 PM in the Green Room at the San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center (401 Van Ness Ave.) and will feature performances by students in SFCM's Pre-College and Collegiate divisions, including a special rendition of the I Dream of Jeannie theme song and "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" in honor of Ms. Eden's San Francisco roots. SFCM President David Stull will interview Ms. Eden about her life and career before she's awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award. Proceeds from the event support SFCM student scholarships.

In addition to the Fanfare Luncheon, during her visit to San Francisco, Ms. Eden will return to SFCM for the first time since she was a student in the 1940s. She'll tour the campus and engage with current students in a Q&A. The private event will be moderated by a current SFCM voice student-soprano and actress Taylor See '20. 

"I left San Francisco but my heart has always been with the Shining City on the Hill and the wonderful memories I had growing up there," said Barbara Eden. "It is with deep appreciation that the San Francisco Conservatory of Music is honoring me and I'm thrilled to be coming back to San Francisco to receive this wonderful honor at the organization's annual Fanfare Luncheon. My special thanks to all the many people who have worked to make this special event possible.  It is one I will always treasure."

The 2020 Fanfare Luncheon is chaired by SFCM alumna Ana T.L. Dierkhising '95 and SFCM Trustees Lisa Grotts and Mary Poland. The annual, intimate luncheon recognizes the innovative and impactful career paths of SFCM alumni and their contributions to music and community. 

The Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor bestowed by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music leadership upon an outstanding alumna or alumnus. Recent honorees have included composer Ramón Sender Barayón '62, pianist and conductor Jeffrey Kahane '77, guitarist Eugene Rodriguez '87, and soprano Lisa Delan '89.

A limited number of tickets are still available at $500 for the luncheon or $1,000 for the Dream Package, which includes a special VIP reception with Barbara Eden prior to the luncheon and parking. Information and tickets are available online at sfcm.edu/fanfare or by calling 415-503-6307.

About Barbara Eden

Barbara Eden, the iconic star of I Dream of Jeannie, attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as a student of the Pre-College program. Barbara began her illustrious career in San Francisco working clubs in a comedy act billed as Hoffman and Huffman, her family name, and went on to star in a great number of feature films, TV series, and top-rated made-for-television movies. Barbara's career exploded in 1965 when she was cast as Jeannie, and the show became a major hit, running for five seasons.

As a performer, she was a Las Vegas headliner and the star of numerous musical theatre productions. Most recently, she played to SRO audiences in her one-woman show, On The Magic Carpet with Barbara Eden, and in Love Letters, A.R. Gurney's celebrated, two-character Broadway hit play. 

People Magazine named Barbara "One of America's 200 Greatest Pop Icons of the 20th Century." She has also been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and received numerous Lifetime Achievement Awards throughout her remarkable career.

Her autobiography, Jeannie Out of the Bottle, was published in 2011 and became a New York Times Bestseller. When there is time in her crowded schedule, she works actively on behalf of numerous charities.

About the San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Founded in 1917, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a global destination for musical excellence, earning an international reputation for producing musicians of the highest caliber. Located in the heart of San Francisco's Civic Center, SFCM's faculty includes nearly 30 members of the San Francisco Symphony as well as Grammy Award-winning artists in fields ranging from orchestral and chamber performance to classical guitar. The Conservatory offers its 400-plus collegiate students fully accredited bachelor's and master's degrees and professional diplomas in composition and instrumental and vocal performance, as well as in newly established, groundbreaking tracks such as Technology and Applied Composition and Roots, Jazz, and American Music. SFCM's collaborations with major Bay Area arts presenters, including the San Francisco Symphony, Opera, Ballet, and SFJAZZ Center, present an unprecedented learning environment for Conservatory students to engage with the world's leading artists. The Conservatory's relationships with Sony Playstation, Skywalker Sound, and other Silicon Valley companies also offer unique opportunities that reinforce the institution's innovative curricular approach in artistic, intellectual, professional, and individual development, a connected learning sequence that gives students an education for life. SFCM's collegiate and Pre-College students have appeared at such storied venues as Carnegie Hall and Davies Symphony Hall and have performed on national radio programs including NPR's Live from Here and Performance Today. Notable alumni include violinists Yehudi Menuhin and Isaac Stern, conductor and pianist Jeffrey Kahane, soprano Elza van den Heever, the Naumburg Award-winning Telegraph Quartet (on faculty as SFCM's Quartet-in-Residence), Blue Bottle Coffee founder James Freeman, and Ronald Losby (President of Steinway & Sons - Americas), among others. For more information, visit sfcm.edu.