25 years ago the gripping opera Dead Man Walking premiered at San Francisco Opera with mezzo-soprano Susan Graham center stage. "It was a journey," Graham said, who originated the role of Sister Helen Prejean in the opera written by new SFCM faculty …
Become an SFCM Luminary today Since its founding in 1917, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) has believed in the transformative power of music to shape lives and strengthen communities. For more than a century, SFCM has provided world-class …
Violin
Piano
Professional Development
alumni success
2022 violin graduate Patrick Galvin quite literally learned how to make records at SFCM. A Pre-College graduate, he returned to the Conservatory for his master's degree, which unfortunately overlapped with the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Over …
SFCM graduates are performing on some of the most prestigious stages in the world, starting their own companies, and making music with the biggest names in the business. Others are carving their own path as performers, teachers, and arts leaders in the …
Opera and Musical Theatre Program
Opera Studies
Vocal Studies
performances
Opera fans and first-timers alike will find something to sing about when “Beyond the Aria” takes the stage for its one-night-only showcase. GRAMMY-Award winning pianist, arranger, and Askonas Holt Artist Craig Terry will visit SFCM for a Voice …
Mission Statement At SFCM, the Office of Financial Empowerment and Access is dedicated to serving students with integrity, purpose, and professionalism. We uphold the highest standards of excellence and accountability, working collaboratively and …
Each year, SFCM's internal Concerto Competition offers students a chance to perform a spotlight performance with the SFCM Orchestra—and this year, some equally exciting young talent from across the Bay will be overseeing things. Oakland Symphony Music …
New York’s famed Metropolitan Opera’s 2025-2026 season has opened, notably featuring SFCM faculty, alumni, and Alliance talent . SFCM Composition faculty Mason Bates ’ new work The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay hit the stage on Sept. 21 …
It’s being called the biggest short film of the year, and SFCM talent set the score. Graduate Michelangelo Rodriquez co-scored “Sweet Revenge,” the latest entry in the Friday the 13th franchise and the first since 2009. “I’ve loved movies, especially …
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra just scored a new sound courtesy SFCM’s Woodwinds Department. Clarinet player Johnny Wang has joined the lauded orchestra as Associate Principal and E-flat clarinet. “Toronto is a city full of life and filled to the brim …
As the San Francisco Symphony struck its first notes of the season, a Conservatory piano student was there to share the stage and the spotlight. SFCM's Parker Van Ostrand made his Davies Symphony Hall debut with the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) for its …
Composition
Opera and Musical Theatre Program
performances
It’s not every day a musician gets to perform a piece with its original writer, yet that’s exactly what student Vicente Alvarez got to do last week. Alvarez performed “Wilson’s Aria” from Jake Heggie’s newest opera Intelligence , with Heggie on piano …
San Francisco already has one fairly well-known bridge, but SFCM's Bridge to Arts and Music (BAM) is catching up. BAM is an afterschool program that provides scholarship-based music lessons in the fundamentals of piano, choir, and music theory for …
For its 2025-2026 concert season, SFCM is planning its busiest and biggest series of performances in Conservatory history. “When I curate a season I want every concert to feel like an event,” SFCM Music Director, and conductor Edwin Outwate r said. Every …
Gyan Riley is still (guitar) crazy after all these years. The SFCM guitar alum recently wrapped up a tour backing Paul Simon, but journeying around for four months with one of the biggest pop stars of the 20th century is par for the course for Riley, who …
Jake Heggie 's work has made him one of the most visible standard-bearers for opera in the 21st century, but like anyone else, he wouldn't be here without a lifetime of teachers. "From the time I was a little kid, it was always my teachers who recognized …
World-class halls for world-class talent The Conservatory’s Civic Center campus consists of the Ann Getty Center for Education, opened in 2006 at 50 Oak Street, and the Ute and William K. Bowes, Jr. Center for Performing Arts, opened partially in 2020 at …
SFCM students hit the ground running the first week of September, following a busy week of move-in, orientations, and placement auditions. Following Orientation Week, students were faced with their first academic classes and placement auditions, with …
Strings
Violin
Technology and Applied Composition
strings
There are a few "Simon James" pages on IMDB, but when you find the one belonging to SFCM's Strings Chair , you'll know by the 123 Music Department credits. For nearly three decades, Violin faculty James was a mainstay in the world of big-budget soundtrack …
Before the semester's first rehearsals, SFCM students faced a different challenge: arranging their dorm rooms in four-part harmony. The 12-story Bowes Center, which was inaugurated in 2021 , welcomed nearly 220 new residents over the weekend as new and …
