The San Francisco Symphony has both heroic and seasonal family concerts this weekend, with guest conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser leading the orchestra in Saturday’s Superheroes and Villains and two performances Sunday of Deck the Hall. Both are aimed toward families and kids, with special guests, and programming that will appeal to young audiences. (And kids will get a souvenir cape at Saturday’s performance!)
There are details about the concerts for Saturday and Sunday at the San Francisco Symphony website.
There have always been good guys and bad guys in popular culture, Bartholomew-Poyser says. “What we do now, when we go to see a film, when we go to an opera, and see on the big silver screen these heroes and villains, it’s the exact same thing that’s always been happening.” So along with the villainous Queen of the Night, and some “heroic” Beethoven, there will be music from The Avengers, Superman, and one of the most recent additions to the superhero film pantheon. “we have some new music that has not been performed in the concert hall. This is music from the superhero movie Black Panther. We’re super excited about that. We have Magatte Sow, who’s coming to perform, he’s the original drummer from the soundtrack.” There are other surprise guests – and on Sunday’s performances, the Symphony will be sharing the stage with singers from the San Francisco Boys Chorus, Young Womens’ Choral Projects of San Francisco, dancers from the San Francisco Ballet School Trainee Program, and even cast members of Beach Blanket Babylon. “We’re going to celebrate the music of the holiday season from around the United States – that is what is really special about the Deck the Hall concerts this year. It’s music of America, from the different states, the way that they uniquely celebrate the holidays.”
