Reimagining Classical Music with the San Francisco Symphony

What does it mean to experience classical music in the 21st century?

At the San Francisco Symphony, it might be hearing Mozart alongside a Jimi Hendrix riff or watching light, scent and sound combine in an unexpected collaboration. Yet these innovations rest on a foundation of extraordinary musicianship and over a century of tradition. This is classical music reimagined for today—blending the best of the past with the inventive energy of San Francisco itself. As part of East West Bank’s long-standing commitment to the arts, our partnership with the Symphony since 2009 has supported a spirit of reinvention.

A Legacy of Excellence

Founded in 1911, the San Francisco Symphony has built a reputation as a cultural pillar of the Bay Area and a standard-bearer for orchestras worldwide. It has toured internationally to critical acclaim, garnered 17 Grammy Awards for its recordings and received honors such as the ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. For generations, the Symphony has introduced audiences to the great works of classical music while also championing new voices.

Over the years, the Symphony has been sustained not only by its audiences and donors, but also strong institutional partnerships. That stability has enabled the Symphony to pursue bold artistic projects while continuing to serve the community.

Today, that vision is carried forward by CEO Matthew Spivey. A clarinetist by training, Spivey studied at the New England Conservatory before moving into orchestra administration. Spivey has held leadership roles with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Fort Worth Symphony—experience that informs his perspective on guiding San Francisco’s orchestra at a pivotal moment.

Innovative Symphony Experiences

Innovation has become a hallmark of the San Francisco Symphony. The orchestra regularly pairs classics with contemporary works, becoming known for genre-bending projects. The SoundBox series, for example, transforms a rehearsal space into a late-night venue with video projections, shifting stage designs and a club-like atmosphere. Spivey calls it “one of my all-time favorite things we do… Anything is possible in SoundBox. It all comes together to tell a story and bring people together in an emotional way.”

The Symphony is also at the forefront in presenting film concerts with orchestra, performing scores to movies like Titanic, Top Gun and Disney-Pixar’s Coco live as the films play on screen. Cross-disciplinary collaborations, including a multisensory performance created in collaboration with Cartier that blended scent and light with music, further demonstrate the institution’s appetite for experimentation. “Some of our most successful projects have been the most unusual,” Spivey reflects.

Collaborative programming plays a pivotal role. Spivey says, “Programming is developed from an incredible array of inputs… from members of our orchestra, from renowned artists, from creative relationships in San Francisco and across the world, even from disciplines you wouldn’t normally associate with an orchestra.”

Musicianship at the Core

At the heart of the Symphony’s success is the caliber of its musicians. The San Francisco institution has long attracted some of the world’s top orchestral talents. As Spivey explains, “The level of musicianship is extraordinary, which means we do not really have artistic limits. Nothing is too challenging, and there is no style of music beyond our reach. That gives us an incredible degree of artistic and creative freedom.”

San Francisco Symphony in the Community

Equally central to the Symphony’s mission is education. Each year, its programs reach more than 25,000 students across San Francisco:

• Adventures in Music brings free music education to every San Francisco public elementary school student, offering classroom visits, teacher resources and concerts at Davies Symphony Hall.

• Music and Mentors supports San Francisco’s public middle and high school bands and orchestras with professional coaching, instrument repair and rehearsal access.

• The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, tuition-free and internationally recognized, provides pre-professional training for talented young musicians.

Together, these programs create a pathway that introduces music early, sustains it through adolescence and prepares the next generation of performers and audiences.

Resilience and Sustainability

Like many nonprofit organizations, the San Francisco Symphony must balance ambitious artistic goals with the realities of operating a large institution.

Spivey explains: “Consistent funding is one of the biggest challenges for nonprofits. Being able to rely on steady financial partnerships is critical to making sure we can keep our focus on the music and the community we serve.”

Through careful planning and the support of committed partners like East West, the Symphony has sustained its staff, expanded its programs and continued to invest in projects that push classical music forward.

A Defining Transition

The Symphony is entering a period of change, as many longtime musicians retire and a new wave of players joins the ensemble. Spivey notes that many of the new musicians, alongside their veteran colleagues, are helping carry forward the Symphony’s broader mission: “So many of the young musicians joining the Symphony have an appetite to connect with the community … to be advocates for this art form and for the arts in general, for creativity and for reconnecting with each other as human beings.”

At the same time, the search is underway for the orchestra’s next Music Director, a decision that will shape its artistic direction for years to come. “It’s one of the most exciting opportunities on our horizon,” Spivey says. “San Francisco is one of the most vibrant, creative cities in the world. That provides fertile soil for an arts organization. And for our next Music Director, there’s a chance to create things here that wouldn’t be possible anywhere else—and potentially, a very influential period for the art form. I’m very excited about that.”

He adds that this moment also reflects the city’s own story: “I love the idea of the city of San Francisco reinventing itself, with arts and culture at its core, as something that is definitional to the profile of what San Francisco is all about.”

Looking Ahead

The San Francisco Symphony Today

For audiences, the San Francisco Symphony offers both excellence and discovery. Those seeking the grandeur of the great symphonies will find it at Davies Symphony Hall, while adventurous listeners can explore unexpected musical experiences in places like SoundBox. In every setting, the orchestra demonstrates exceptional musicianship—honoring tradition while pioneering new possibilities.