The San Francisco Symphony unveiled audacious plans to remake Davies Symphony Hall in an attempt to expand its musical offerings and appeal to a broader swath of the city’s public. The project is expected to cost at least $100 million.
The renovation plans come as San Francisco Symphony faces leadership, financial, and artistic crises: star conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen announced he will leave the ensemble in a rift with management, the orchestra faces a $12.5 million budget deficit, and management has proposed an 80% budget cut to the San Francisco Symphony Chorus that has drawn ire from the American Guild of Musical Artists. A grassroots group called the San Francisco Symphony Patrons Alliance has started a campaign to reverse the upheaval it believes will have a lasting detrimental effect on the organization.
Although the project is being presented this week to city planners, funding remains an open question. San Francisco Symphony CEO Matthew Spivey explained in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle that the priority now “is to stabilize the organization financially and support our artistic output before embarking on a campaign to support any future renovation projects.”
The plans include an expansion of the hall’s ground floor including moving the main entrance so it is diagonal from City Hall; the addition of a recital hall for smaller-scale concerts; the replacement of a parking lot with a new wing featuring a restaurant and event spaces; and an oversized “media wall” allowing concerts to be broadcast outdoors to the general public.
Renderings and project plans will be presented Aug. 21 at a City Hall meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission. The San Francisco Symphony Patrons Alliance, the grassroots group, has yet to comment on the symphony’s proposal.
