00Days 00Hours 00Minutes RSVP TODAY! Facebook Instagram Donate Artists About Register Volunteer Humberger Toggle Menu ARTISTS ABOUT REGISTER VOLUNTEER INTERMUSIC SF PRESENTS SF MUSIC DAY 2024 A Daylong Celebration of Bay Area Music Featuring 80+ Artists, 19 Groups, and Over 7 Hours of Free Performances Sunday, October 20, 2024 | 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM | Free San Francisco War Memorial + Performing Arts Center, San Francisco SF Music Day is a free music festival that presents 19 local ensembles, over 80 artists, performing for 7+ hours of continuous music. With musical performances featuring blues, chamber-folk, classical, early, experimental, jazz, new, tango, world music – and everything in between – it’s a full-day of concerts, with something for everyone. Guest-curated by vocalist and performing artist Sidney Chen, SF Music Day invites audiences to experience the brilliant artistry that defines the Bay Area music scene. The 2024 lineup features instrumentalists and vocalists, reflecting the rich diversity of the Bay Area’s musical landscape. Read below to learn more about the artists, the performance schedule, and what to expect at the 2024 SF Music Day. REGISTER for TICKETS WITH GUEST CURATOR SIDNEY CHEN Sidney Chen is a multi-faceted musician and performing arts producer, dedicated to dissolving boundaries and fostering personal connection through creative work. Beth Schenck Quintet HERBST THEATRE • 1ST FLOOR 12:00PM Beth Schenck, alto saxophone + compositions | Cory Wright, tenor saxophone and bass clarinet | Matt Wrobel, guitar | Lisa Mezzacappa, bass | Jordan Glenn, drums CHAMBER JAZZ | ORIGINAL MUSIC Beth Schenck is a San Francisco-based saxophonist, composer, and educator. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2013, she has become a prominent figure in West Coast jazz, improvised, and chamber music. Her projects include solo saxophone work, the saxophone quartet Social Stutter, the Beth Schenck Quintet, and House of Faern, each highlighting her versatility and creative edge. As a composer, Beth has written for festivals and schools worldwide, including the Sunset Jazz Festival (Japan) and Outsound Summit (SF). She leads the music department at San Francisco Day School and directs its jazz program. Beth also teaches at Stanford Jazz Workshop and advocates for jazz education as a representative for the California Alliance for Jazz. Renegade Duo GREEN ROOM • 2ND FLOOR 12:00PM Melinda Becker, voice | Jon Mendle, guitar SECULAR JEWISH | CLASSICAL | ART SONG Renegade Duo, featuring guitarist Jon Mendle and mezzo-soprano Melinda Becker, was founded in 2017 to explore uncommon and exciting music for guitar and voice. Their repertoire spans centuries and genres, from Renaissance lute songs to jazz standards and contemporary classical works. Melinda’s New Mexican and Jewish heritage shapes her performances of art songs in languages like Spanish, Ladino, and Yiddish. Jon is an active performer on both historical and modern instruments, having toured with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble and earning recognition in international lute competitions. Renegade Duo’s program celebrates their shared Jewish heritage, featuring Sephardic and Ashkenazi songs alongside arrangements by Amy Winehouse, Leonard Cohen, and Regina Spektor. Quartet San Francisco...
INTERMUSIC SF PRESENTS
SF MUSIC DAY 2024
A Daylong Celebration of Bay Area Music Featuring 80+ Artists, 19 Groups, and Over 7 Hours of Free Performances
Sunday, October 20, 2024 | 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM | Free
San Francisco War Memorial + Performing Arts Center, San Francisco
SF Music Day is a free music festival that presents 19 local ensembles, over 80 artists, performing for 7+ hours of continuous music. With musical performances featuring blues, chamber-folk, classical, early, experimental, jazz, new, tango, world music – and everything in between – it’s a full-day of concerts, with something for everyone.
Guest-curated by vocalist and performing artist Sidney Chen, SF Music Day invites audiences to experience the brilliant artistry that defines the Bay Area music scene. The 2024 lineup features instrumentalists and vocalists, reflecting the rich diversity of the Bay Area’s musical landscape.
Read below to learn more about the artists, the performance schedule, and what to expect at the 2024 SF Music Day.
WITH GUEST CURATOR SIDNEY CHEN
Sidney Chen is a multi-faceted musician and performing arts producer, dedicated to dissolving boundaries and fostering personal connection through creative work.
Beth Schenck Quintet
HERBST THEATRE • 1ST FLOOR 12:00PM
Beth Schenck, alto saxophone + compositions | Cory Wright, tenor saxophone and bass clarinet | Matt Wrobel, guitar | Lisa Mezzacappa, bass | Jordan Glenn, drums
CHAMBER JAZZ | ORIGINAL MUSIC
Beth Schenck is a San Francisco-based saxophonist, composer, and educator. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2013, she has become a prominent figure in West Coast jazz, improvised, and chamber music. Her projects include solo saxophone work, the saxophone quartet Social Stutter, the Beth Schenck Quintet, and House of Faern, each highlighting her versatility and creative edge.
As a composer, Beth has written for festivals and schools worldwide, including the Sunset Jazz Festival (Japan) and Outsound Summit (SF). She leads the music department at San Francisco Day School and directs its jazz program. Beth also teaches at Stanford Jazz Workshop and advocates for jazz education as a representative for the California Alliance for Jazz.
Renegade Duo
GREEN ROOM • 2ND FLOOR 12:00PM
Melinda Becker, voice | Jon Mendle, guitar
SECULAR JEWISH | CLASSICAL | ART SONG
Renegade Duo, featuring guitarist Jon Mendle and mezzo-soprano Melinda Becker, was founded in 2017 to explore uncommon and exciting music for guitar and voice. Their repertoire spans centuries and genres, from Renaissance lute songs to jazz standards and contemporary classical works. Melinda’s New Mexican and Jewish heritage shapes her performances of art songs in languages like Spanish, Ladino, and Yiddish. Jon is an active performer on both historical and modern instruments, having toured with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble and earning recognition in international lute competitions.
Renegade Duo’s program celebrates their shared Jewish heritage, featuring Sephardic and Ashkenazi songs alongside arrangements by Amy Winehouse, Leonard Cohen, and Regina Spektor.
Quartet San Francisco
TAUBE ATRIUM THEATER • 4TH FLOOR 12:30PM
Jeremy Cohen, violin | Joseph Christianson, violin | Chad Kaltinger, viola | Tyler DeVigal, cello
CLASSICAL | CONTEMPORARY JAZZ
Multi Grammy nominated Quartet San Francisco, was founded in 2001 by classical and jazz violinist Jeremy Cohen. “QSF was born out of the desire to create a genre of string chamber literature that gathers its material from popular music elements of recent decades.
Oakland School for the Arts,
Jazz Messengers
HERBST THEATRE • 1ST FLOOR 1:15PM
Ayo Brame, soprano + tenor sax | Vito Marcacci, trombone | Lucy Khadder, violin | Kingston Melancon, violin | Sophia Sparks, mandolin + guitar | Marcel Santos, piano | Sebastian Emley, bass | Clare O'Grady, bass | Victor Kali-O'Connell, drums | Kaleo Green, drums | Joaquin Ortiz, drums | Luca Parenti, drums
JAZZ FUSION | SWING
The Oakland School for the Arts Jazz Messengers is an award-winning high school jazz nonet, directed by two-time Grammy-nominated bassist Daniel Lucca Parenti. The ensemble explores jazz’s rich legacy, from the works of Duke Ellington and Miles Davis to modern innovators like Roy Hargrove, Esperanza Spalding, and Snarky Puppy. Under Parenti’s guidance, the Jazz Messengers combine technical mastery with heartfelt expression, delivering performances that inspire and captivate. Their commitment to excellence honors jazz’s historical roots while embracing its future. Through their music, they pay tribute to jazz legends and push creative boundaries, celebrating the genre’s enduring power and beauty.
Liu Xi 柳溪 Willow Stream
GREEN ROOM • 2ND FLOOR 1:15PM
Diana Rowan, Celtic harp | Winnie Wong, Guzheng (Chinese zither)
TRADITIONAL CHINESE + IRISH FUSION
Diana Rowan and Winnie Wong form a dynamic musical duo, merging the Celtic harp’s delicate tones with the ancient resonance of the Chinese guzheng. Irish-born harpist Diana brings global influences into her work, performing across six continents and leading the Bright Way Guild. Her performances and solo albums reflect her deep connection to both traditional and contemporary music. Guzheng virtuoso Winnie Wong, born in Hong Kong and raised in San Francisco, blends Chinese tradition with modern arrangements. As founder of “China’s Spirit Music Ensemble,” she fosters new generations of musicians. Together, their collaboration blends Celtic, Chinese, and world music, offering a fresh sound that bridges cultural and musical boundaries.
Beneath A Tree with
Kjell Nordeson
TAUBE ATRIUM THEATER • 3RD FLOOR 1:15PM
Gail Hernández Rosa, violin, viola & vocals | Daniel Turkos, contrabass, octave mandolin, guitar + vocals | Kjell Nordeson, vibraphone
BAROQUE FOLK
Beneath A Tree (BAT) is a multi-genre ensemble led by Gail Hernández Rosa and Daniel Turkos, dedicated to exploring baroque music. BAT’s innovative performances break traditional concert norms, creating fresh connections to baroque music’s relevance through inclusive, genre-transcending programming.
Founded in 2017 in Philadelphia and Chester County, PA, BAT relocated to Northern California in 2018. They have performed at venues such as the California Jazz Conservatory, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Herbst Theatre. Recognized by Early Music America and Boston Early Music, BAT has been featured on WQXR, KRCB, and more. In 2024, BAT was nominated for “Best Early Music Ensemble” and “Best Chamber Ensemble” by San Francisco Classical Voice.
Chelsea Hollow + Taylor Chan
HERBST THEATRE • 1ST FLOOR 2:15PM
Chelsea Hollow, soprano, commissioner, curator | Taylor Chan, piano
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL
Cycles of Resistance is a powerful musical journey performed by soprano Chelsea Hollow and pianist Taylor Chan, showcasing themes of resistance and resilience. Commissioned between 2018-2021, the program highlights diverse languages and perspectives not yet common in the classical canon: Mandarin, Dutch, Turkish, Czech, and English. The pieces explore topics such as Chinese feminist poetry, love conquering evil, the unity of young Czech girls imprisoned at Theresienstadt, Turkish Femicide, and inspiring speeches by U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and activist Valarie Kaur. Featuring intimate vocal restraint, harmonic expansion, and techno-inspired synths, *Cycles of Resistance* celebrates contemporary classical music’s broad soundscape. Highlights include works by Anthony R. Green, Sophie Xuefei Zhang, and Niloufar Nourbakhsh.
Bethany Hill
GREEN ROOM • 2ND FLOOR 2:15PM
Bethany Hill, vocals
VOCAL | FOLK | EARLY
Bethany Hill is an acclaimed Australian soprano and theatre-maker, now based in the U.S. Specializing in historical music, she also explores new compositions, blending folk and electronic elements to create unique soundscapes. In 2018, she co-created the children’s opera Can You Hear Colour? at the Adelaide Festival of Arts. Now, she is one half of the San Francisco-based experimental-folk duo, Turas Ensemble, which began touring in 2023. Bethany premiered her one-woman theatre piece Femmina Super at the 2024 Hollywood Fringe Festival, earning a nomination for the Loud Karma Emerging Playwright Award.
Program highlights for SF Music Day 2024 include re-imagined works by Hildegard von Bingen and Barbara Strozzi, alongside Australian and American folk music.
Sierra Ensemble
TAUBE ATRIUM THEATER • 4TH FLOOR 2:15PM
Matthew Vincent, violin | Janis Lieberman, French horn | Marc Steiner, piano
CLASSICAL | WORLD | CONTEMPORARY
Sierra Ensemble is a violin, horn, and piano trio performing worldwide since 1998. Their mission is to build community and expand the horn trio repertoire through commissions, education projects, and accessible performances. Sierra Ensemble has received ArtsLink and U.S. State Department grants for the Turkish American Composers Project and has commissioned works from composers like Russell Steinberg, Aida Shirazi, and Tolga Özdemir. Winners of InterMusicSF’s 2021 commission grant, they premiered Richard Aldag’s Trio and are currently collaborating with composer Anthony DeRitis. Praised for their talent and emotional range, Sierra Ensemble creates memorable and inspiring performances.
Manik Khan & Arjun K. Verma with Eman Hashimi
HERBST THEATRE • 1ST FLOOR 3:15PM
Arjun K. Verma, sitar | Manik Khan, sarod | Eman Hashimi, tabla
INDIAN CLASSICAL
Manik Khan and Arjun K. Verma, lineage holders of the 500-year-old Seni-Maihar Gharana of Indian Classical Music, bring the profound sounds of the sitar and sarod to life, following in the footsteps of Maestro Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar. As faculty at the Ali Akbar College of Music, they educate and inspire a new generation to carry forward this ancient tradition. Performing globally, from the United Nations to Bogotá, they honor Indian Classical music’s healing roots.
Hashimi, a protégé of Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri and from a renowned Afghan musical family, learned traditional rhythms from his father, Ustad Tooryalai Hashimi, bringing his unique expertise to this powerful musical collaboration.
Kyle Tingzon + Benjamin Liupaogo with Ellen Ruth Rose
GREEN ROOM • 2ND FLOOR 3:15PM
Kyle Sanchez Tingzon, countertenor | Benjamin Liupaogo, piano | Ellen Ruth Rose, viola
CLASSICAL| ART SONG | OPERA
Kyle Sanchez Tingzon, Countertenor
Filipino countertenor Kyle Sanchez Tingzon has been praised for his “meltingly beautiful tone” (The Wall Street Journal). In 2023, he was an apprentice artist with The Glimmerglass Festival, performing Goffredo in Rinaldo. Recent solo performances include engagements with American Bach, the International Bamboo Organ Festival, and the San Francisco Conservatory Baroque Opera. Upcoming appearances include debuts in Munich, Gävle, and Detroit Opera.
Benjamin Liupaogo, Piano
Samoan tenor and pianist Benjamin Liupaogo is a Lecturer of Vocal Studies at Stanford University, performing with ensembles like the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and Philharmonia Baroque.
Ellen Ruth Rose, Viola
Violist Ellen Ruth Rose performs with Earplay, Empyrean Ensemble, and Eco Ensemble, and is on the instrumental faculty at UC Berkeley and UC Davis.
Circadian String Quartet
TAUBE ATRIUM THEATER • 4TH FLOOR 3:15PM
Monika Gruber, violin | David Ryther, violin | Omid Assadi, viola | David Wishnia, cello
MODERN CLASSICAL | WORLD-FOLK | TANGO
Founded in 2013, the Bay Area-based Circadian String Quartet (CSQ) performs classical and contemporary works of folkloric and cultural significance. Known for bold, boundary-crossing programming, CSQ frequently collaborates with composers and has premiered works by Sahba Aminikia, Ben Carson, Noam Lemish, Ian Venables, and Davide Verotta. In 2017, CSQ premiered The Weight of the World, a piece by Aminikia blending text by Allen Ginsburg and Hafez. CSQ is also celebrated for its original transcriptions of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and The Firebird. In 2024, they premiered Euridice’s Defiance, an opera by David Ryther, addressing family separation at the border, featuring a libretto by Kimiko Guthrie.
Simon Barrad +
Kseniia Polstiankina Barrad
HERBST THEATRE • 1ST FLOOR 4:00PM
Simon Barrad, voice | Kseniia Polstiankina Barrad, piano
VOCAL | CLASSICAL | CABARET
Grammy-nominated baritone Simon Barrad is known for his genre-bending performances across the U.S. and Europe. His innovative programming blends new and old, jazz and drama, and classical and folk styles. Recent highlights include performances at the Metropolitan Opera, Wigmore Hall, Ravinia Festival, and Marlboro Music Festival. Based in the Bay Area, he serves as the cantorial soloist at Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco and co-founded JIVE: Jewish Innovative Voices & Experiences.
Ukraine-born pianist Kseniia Polstiankina Barrad has a flourishing transatlantic career. She is a member of the music staff at San Francisco Opera and a guest assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera. Their program features American music, from Paul Simon to cabaret and folk songs.
Choi-Lee-Teicholz Trio
GREEN ROOM • 2ND FLOOR 4:00PM
Jennifer Choi, violin | Angela Lee, cello | Marc Teicholz, guitar
ALEATORIC | ABORIGINAL | CHORAL
Award-winning violinist Jennifer Choi has built a career that transcends traditional boundaries of solo, chamber, and improvisational music. Praised by The New York Times as an “excellent violinist,” she has performed at renowned venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall and the Library of Congress. Cellist Angela Lee, a founding member of The Lee Trio, teaches and performs internationally. Her latest album, Midsummer Night Magic, was released on the Chelsea Music Festival Records label. Angela also coaches chamber music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Guitarist Marc Teicholz, the 1989 International Guitar Foundation of America competition winner, has toured extensively and teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and California State University East Bay.
Roco Córdova
TAUBE ATRIUM THEATER • 4TH FLOOR 4:00PM
Roco Córdova, voice + electronics
VOCAL | ELECTRONIC | EXPERIMENTAL
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Roco Córdova is a vocalist, composer, producer, and improviser based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With degrees in Composition from the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music and Mills College, Roco has toured globally with The Art Ensemble of Chicago, performing at iconic venues like The Kennedy Center and SESC Pompéia. In 2023-2024, they toured with Dorian Wood’s *Canto de Todes*, a 12-hour chamber composition. Roco’s work fuses diverse influences with electronic media, noise, and improvisation, featuring extended vocal techniques like throat singing, overtone singing, and falsetto. Their performances, blending voice and technology, create a timeless experience that transcends conventional boundaries, merging ritual and performance.
Diana Gameros + Patrick Wolff
HERBST THEATRE • 1ST FLOOR 5:00PM
Diana Gameros, vocals, guitar, piano | Patrick Wolff clarinet, tenor saxophone
LATIN | FOLK
Diana Gameros, a singer, songwriter, and composer, was born in Juárez, México, and immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager. Based in the Bay Area for the past decade, she has released two albums featuring original songs in Spanish and English. Highlighted by NPR’s Tiny Desk and a 2020 KQED documentary, her music reflects themes of family, migration, and home. Diana will release a new album in 2025, recorded with a grant from the Gerbode Foundation.
Patrick Wolff is a saxophonist and clarinetist with deep roots in the jazz scenes of New York and San Francisco. He has performed with jazz greats like Matt Wilson and Albert “Tootie” Heath, and has released six albums as a bandleader.
Sidney Chen
GREEN ROOM • 2ND FLOOR 5:00PM
Sidney Chen, music box
CLASSICAL | EXPERIMENTAL
Sidney Chen is a multi-faceted musician and performing arts producer, dedicated to dissolving boundaries and fostering personal connection through creative work.
With his “expressive and richly mellifluous” bass-baritone voice (SF Chronicle) he collaborates with artists across disciplines, including staged productions with Meredith Monk, KT Nelson and ODC/Dance, and Anne Hege and the Stanford Laptop Orchestra, approaching the theater as a contemplative space. Additional highlights include premiering Monk’s “Realm Variations” in the San Francisco Symphony’s American Mavericks Festival and performing in Carnegie Hall’s 45th-anniversary celebration of Terry Riley’s “In C.”
His love for small-ensemble music-making has led to co-founding The M6 sextet, a 25-year association with chamber choir Volti, and his work with the vocal ensemble Clerestory. His solo projects tend toward quietness and detail, and often include his DIY hand-crank music boxes and intricate, hand-punched scrolls, which were featured in a Chronicle Sunday Datebook cover story.
Behind the scenes, he draws on three decades of experience with forward-looking organizations like the Kronos Quartet, Nonesuch Records, NewMusicBox, and EIGHT/MOVES to help bring creative ideas into reality.
Geechi Taylor Quintet
TAUBE ATRIUM THEATER • 4TH FLOOR 5:00PM
Geechi Taylor, trumpet, vocals | Riley Bandy, alto saxophone | Spencer Allen, pianist | Ron Belcher, bassist | Howard Wiley, drummer
BLUES | JAZZ | R&B | SOUL
Geechi Taylor is a premiere trumpeter, entertainer, and educator known for his work across jazz, hip-hop, and more. As a sideman for top bands, he has traveled the world, spreading positive messages through his music. For the past nine years, Geechi has honed his skills as a bandleader and vocalist, performing at major corporate events, historic clubs, and high-profile weddings. He has played alongside greats like Patrice Rushen, Ndugu Chancler, and toured with Lauryn Hill and Jackie Payne. A dedicated educator, Geechi mentors young musicians through the Young Musicians Choral Orchestra. His students have earned scholarships to top music schools like Juilliard and Berkeley, and perform globally with jazz legends.
Ash Walker, Director
LOBBY OF HERBST THEATRE • 1ST FLOOR 6:00PM
Ash Walker, Director | Various singers from University of the Pacific | Members of SoulBeatz Drum circle of Oakland California
PLUCKED + BOWED STRINGS | CHAMBER
Grammy-nominated conductor Ash Walker began his musical journey with the Philadelphia Boys Choir, traveling across the U.S., Switzerland, Australia, South Africa, Israel, and beyond. He earned a B.A. in music from Millersville University, co-founding the Men’s Choir and serving as Drum Major of the Marauder Marching Band. In 2009, Ash founded the non-auditioned Lancaster Community Chorus, cultivating community through music. He completed his Master’s in Choral Conducting at California State University East Bay, where he won the Trustees Scholarship and sang with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Ash also founded the People’s Choir of Fremont and now resides in Oakland, CA, serving as Chorus Director for the Oakland Symphony.
Karen Stackpole
LOBBY OF HERBST THEATER • 1ST FLOOR 12:00PM | 3:00PM | 6:00PM
Karen Stackpole, gongs
EXPERIMENTAL | SOUNDSCAPE
Karen Stackpole is a drummer and percussionist who began her career in rock during the late ‘80s before immersing herself in improvised music and multimedia collaborations. Known for her innovative work with gongs, she has developed unique techniques for drawing harmonics from tam tams, creating dynamic soundscapes and textures. Karen’s contributions span genres, from experimental music to film soundtracks. She has performed and recorded with numerous projects, including Machine Shop: Live Amplified Gong Experience, Ghost in the House, and Steel Hotcakes. Recently, her work has focused on duos with experimental instrument builder Krys Bobrowski, contrabassist Bill Noertker, and guitarist Fred Frith. Karen’s solo performances feature expansive sonic journeys through resonance.
We invite you to the 17th edition of SF Music Day this October 20th at the historic San Francisco War Memorial + Performing Arts Center. Experience 100+ artists performing on the Herbst Theatre, the Green Room, and the Taube Atrium Theater stages, all admission-free!
Check out scenes from SF Music Day 2023:
SF Music Day is a free festival and presents 19 local ensembles, with over 80 artists performing for 7+ hours of continuous music. Come for musical performance featuring an array of genres, including blues, chamber-folk, classical, early, experimental, jazz, new, tango, world music – and everything in between — and experience a culturally rich festival that showcases the brilliant artistry that defines the Bay Area music scene.
Register through Eventbrite for updates on planning your day of free concerts at SF Music Day!
Join our volunteer mailing list to learn ways that your special skills can help make SF Music Day a successful musical adventure for our community!
