A century ago this month, American conductor Henry Hadley took the podium at San Francisco’s Cort Theater to lead the newly formed San Francisco Orchestra in its first concert. Now, 100 years later, the San Francisco Symphony – led by its Music Director of 16 seasons, Michael Tilson Thomas – is an internationally-acclaimed orchestra.

Upcoming Centennial Season Highlights

When MTT joined the SFS as Music Director in 1995, he ended his inaugural season with “An American Festival,” a two-week celebration of American music. As they celebrate the SFS’s centenary this season, MTT and the SFS present the American Mavericksfestival in San Francisco from March 10 to 18, 2012. They will take their program on tour to Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Carnegie Hall. Also this season, MTT and the SFS will delve into California’s musical heritage with Barbary Coast and Beyond: Music from the Gold Rush to the Panama-Pacific Exposition.The series of semi-staged concerts will take place May 10, 11, and 12 at Davies Symphony Hall.

The San Francisco Symphony’s Centennial Season Opening Gala will be broadcast in the US in the spring of 2012 as part of PBS’s Great Performances series. Viewers will see MTT conducting the SFS and soloists Lang Lang and Itzhak Perlman in a program of Copland, Liszt, Mendelssohn, and Britten, entitled “Fanfare for a New Century.” The national PBS broadcast will be followed by a DVD release of the gala performance paired with a documentary about the Symphony’s colorful past.

Click to watch a video about American Mavericks