San Francisco Symphony kicks off its 97th season with splashy gala
By Bruce Bellingham

The San Francisco Symphony begins its 97th season on Wednesday, Sept. 3 with a big celebration that features Michael Tilson Thomas and famed pianist Yefim Bronfman. If you’d like to take in the whole experience, choose from the preconcert Patron’s Dinner, the Symphony Supper or the Symphonix Dinner to be held at 5:30 p.m.

The concert will begin at 8:30. Bronfman will perform Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto no. 3 in D Minor, op. 30.” Also on the bill, Chabrier’s Joyeuse Marche and Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.

Before the concert, all guests are invited to a champagne reception at 7:30 p.m. as well as the after-parties in the tent at Davies Symphony Hall and at City Hall that include complimentary wines, hors d’oeuvres, and desserts. The after-parties features entertainment from Pride & Joy and the Robert Vickers Orchestra.

San Francisco Symphony Opening Night Gala: Davis Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave. (at Hayes); Wednesday, Sept. 3, 5:30 p.m. dinner & 8:30 p.m. concert; concert tickets $130–$250, gala dinner and concert packages $375–$1,750 available at the box office, 415-864-6000 or www.sfsymphony.org; for additional information, and dinner/concert arrangements, call 415-503-5500