Conductor

This concert honors a towering figure in gospel music, Richard Smallwood, through the combined power of orchestra and choir. The BPO joins the Buffalo United Community Choir for an evening rooted in faith, artistry, and the kind of music that lifts a room from the inside out. Smallwood is celebrated for bridging traditions, drawing on classical training, church roots, and contemporary sound to create music that resonates across generations. You will hear selections from his remarkable catalog, including Total Praise, a modern-day hymn known across denominations and communities. This is more than a performance. It is a shared experience of voice, spirit, and community, offered with joy and reverence.

EPSG:4326

A Gospel Symphony Tribute to Richard Smallwood

Kleinhans Music Hall

Oakland native and multi-Grammy Award-winning artist Fantastic Negrito joins the San Francisco Symphony for a striking collaboration that brings his bold, genre-defying sound into a symphonic setting. Drawing from blues, soul, rock, and deeply personal storytelling, his music balances grit and grace, joy and resilience. The performance also marks the 10-year anniversary of Fantastic Negrito’s breakout Tiny Desk Concerts appearance, the moment that introduced his voice to a global audience. Reimaged with a full orchestra, his songs expand in color and dimension, intimate yet powerful, grounded yet expansive. Join us for a shared celebration of artistic freedom, lived experience, and the transformative power of sound.

Fantastic Negrito with the SF Symphony

Davies Symphony Hall

This performance is part of Wynton Marsalis’ final season as Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and Music Director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Marsalis reimagines the music of jazz’s great masters, like Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Chick Corea, and Wayne Shorter. Performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, these big band arrangements bring fresh scale and depth to works that shaped modern jazz.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

Hollywood Bowl

Renowned for his genre-defying style, Jon Batiste makes his Cleveland Orchestra debut with conductor Jonathan Taylor Rush, performing a mix of originals and classics, from his Grammy Award–winning albums BIG MONEY and WE ARE to his interpretations of standards like “What a Wonderful World” and “Georgia on My Mind.” 

Jon Batiste with The Cleveland Orchestra

Blossom Music Center

Few artists move as fluently between opera, classical, gospel, jazz and popular music as countertenor John Holiday. Renowned for his commanding artistry and unmistakable presence, Holiday has appeared in leading roles on opera stages around the world, captivating audiences with performances of remarkable intensity and expressive range. Joined by celebrated Twin Cities vocalists Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele, Holiday and the Minnesota Orchestra bring the summer festival to a close with a vibrant program drawn from the American Songbook, featuring music by Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Billie Holiday and more.

An American Songbook

Orchestra Hall Minneapolis

Countertenor John Holiday returns to Orchestra Hall to perform Carlos Simon’s orchestral song cycle Songs of Separation, a setting of texts by the 13th-century Persian Sufi mystic and poet Rūmī that meditates on loss, longing and the human experience of separation. Tracing a deeply expressive emotional arc—from grief and sorrow toward hope and affirmation—the work is brought vividly to life by Holiday, whose extraordinary, genre-defying voice has been praised by audiences and critics alike for its power, nuance and unmistakable individuality.

John Holiday

The San Francisco Symphony presents an extraordinary symphonic celebration of music with the global icon A.R. Rahman. A Grammy and two-time Academy Award winner, Rahman is one of the world’s most prolific composers and the musical genius behind the soul-stirring music of Slumdog Millionaire.

A.R. Rahman with the San Francisco Symphony

Gospelgalla

Alsion

This year's most daring Christmas production. The Christmas Gospel is set in the present day and tells the story of Joseph and Mary as it might unfold in our time. Beautiful music under the direction of Jonatan Taylor. Commissioned work by Eirik Junge Eliassen. Not a children's performance; it deals with themes not suited to children under 10.

Conductor

Jonathan Taylor Rush

Events

Upcoming events

Dec 4, 2026

Gatas Evangelium · Tromsdalen kirke (Ishavskatedralen)

Past events

Oct 16, 2026

A Gospel Symphony Tribute to Richard Smallwood · Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

Sep 26, 2026

Fantastic Negrito with the SF Symphony · San Francisco Symphony

Future and recently performed repertoire

Conductor in Songs of Separation by Simon

Minnesota Orchestra

Conductor in Coincident Dances by Montgomery

Minnesota Orchestra

Conductor in A Chloris by Hahn

Minnesota Orchestra

Conductor in Symphony No. 1 by Bizet

Minnesota Orchestra

Conductor in L'énamourée by Hahn

Minnesota Orchestra

Conductor in Gatas Evangelium by Junge Eliassen

Tromsdalen kirke (Ishavskatedralen)

About

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