The walls are alive with more than just the sound of music, as upgrades to SFCM's largest concert hall turn the stage into a larger-than-life canvas of light and projection.

The Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall's new lighting upgrades have the capability to transform it into a "digital opera hall." As first announced in 2024, renovations feature dramatic technical upgrades and a full digital proscenium creating a multimedia immersive experience for audiences and students alike. This year will see the finishing touches to this two-year project. 

Concert goers got a peek at this technology in fall of 2025 with the Opera and Musical Theatre Department's The Turn of the Screw, directed by Heather Mathews. "This production combined the best of traditional ghost story tropes with an added punch from our digital hall effects," Mathews said. "It was a thrilling ride!" Critics from the San Francisco Classical Voice praised the light projections in this production for its “Haunting imagery.”

2025's production of "The Turn of the Screw."

Upgrades include mobile hall trusses, lighting infrastructure changes, and mounted projectors that display vast, colorful, and detailed images across the concert hall. These projections and upgrades are utilized for opera and musical theatre performances as well as some orchestra performances, Baroque opera, historical performance, and other student performances, heightening the educational and performance experience across every music genre at the Conservatory.

SFCM Opera and Musical Theatre's production of "Proving Up."

"What Hume offers is possibilities that other theatrical spaces don't," Mathews said "We can set up projections in any configuration; there's nothing hindering people's vision. If we can dream it, this technology will help us realize it."

"These investments will transform our program and expand the creative realm of digital production that will certainly define the performances of tomorrow." SFCM President David H. Stull said at the announcement of the updates. 

SFCM President David H. Stull presents new projection technology.

Hume Concert Hall is a renovated, grand ballroom with a seating capacity of around 350 for most concerts. Internationally renowned visiting artists also perform and present masterclasses in this hall. Not every concert will utilize the full digital technology, which still requires outsourcing some materials, but many productions have already utilized the lighting and projection, including Opera and Musical Theatre's Candide in 2025, as well as Triumph of Love. The Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) Halloween Showcase also used projection technology.

"We are fortunate that in this time when it's so turbulent for the arts, we're producing more productions for free admission than many regional companies," Mathews continued. "Every year, our students have access to multiple high-level productions: It's as if we're operating a regional opera and musical theatre company every academic year."

SFCM’s Musical Theatre's "Triumph of Love."

SFCM guests are invited to see the productions that will utilize some of this lighting technology in Musical Theatre’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on Friday, February 20th, and Saturday February 21st. 

Future concerts also include Opera and Musical Theatre's Cendrillon on Friday, March 13th, and Saturday, March 14th, as well as Historical Performance’s Alcina on Saturday, April 18th, and Sunday, April 19th,  and the Season Finale Opera Showcase Thursday, May 7th and Friday, May 8th. 

One thing is for certain: In this hall, the future of music is looking brighter than ever—projected in full color.

Learn more about attending a concert at SFCM in our performance calendar.