The Conservatory Celebrates 100 Years

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music celebrates its 100th season this year, and is kicking off their season with a chance to let the public see what they have to offer. An open house Saturday afternoon is followed by a series of concerts, and a full season that looks more forward than back. President David Stull says from its very first days, SFCM has been breaking new ground.

There’s more information about the concerts and other centennial events at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music website.

“The conservatory was founded by two women in 1917,” Stull explains. “Ada Clement and Lillian Hodghead came together and I believe it was Lillian’s parents who had to vacate their house on Sacramento Street, so they could open a conservatory. But that was unheard of in the United States.” Within the past few years, SFCM’s curriculum expanded to include its Technology and Applied Composition or TAC Program, which focuses on film scoring, and composition for videogames, using both acoustic and electronic instruments. This season the Conservatory adds a new program, called Roots Jazz American Music, or RJAM. “This is a brand-new program, linked to SFJAZZ… You’ll be hearing them perform throughout the season along with SFJAZZ collective members, who are also our faculty.” David Stull says the start of the new academic year will also see the return of alumni and special guests giving master classes and performances, and there’s going to be another set of impromptu performances that will be popping up all over town, in flashmobs. “Letting people know not only how talented these students are, but to bring music into various parts of the community where it’s rarely seen… Our hope would be that if you were commuting in San Francisco, or spending some time in the public space of San Francisco, you’d have a chance to see a flash mob this year. But the idea is for it to be a wonderful surprise. That music shows up unexpectedly in your life that day, and that’s part of what makes it fun.”