Jesse Hamlin

Playing in the Youth Orchestra is life-altering for many of its young players, who often transition into professional careers.

Super jazz-drummer Scott Amendola’s latest gig is as composer/performer in the Oakland East Bay Symphony “New Visions” commissioning series.

San Francisco Symphony Concertmaster Sasha Barantschik plays a special instrument — a force of nature in its own right, with a noble history.

More and more scientists believe that music is not an accidental byproduct of our big brains. Here’s a report on the most interesting research reported at Stanford’s Music and the Brain Symposium last weekend.

The famed, El Cerrito–based Arhoolie Records turns 50 years old this year, an anniversary that is being celebrated by an enormous roster of fans and artists at Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse in early February. Founder Chris Strachwitz recalls the label’s early days; Taj Mahal and Linda Ronstadt celebrate its triumphs.

Since the 1930s, the city of Saint Francis has hosted a burgeoning Mexican music scene. SFCV's Jesse Hamlin introduces you to the rich panoply spreading forth from the Mission District and elsewhere in the Bay Area.

San Francisco boasts one of the most vibrant and varied guitar scenes around.

The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra's Executive Director, Peter Pastreich, and Music Director Nicholas McGegan, are hatching big plans to bring PBO the national and international recognition it deserves.

Peter Pastreich agrees with those who call the Bay Area’s prized Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra “America’s leading period-instrument ensemble.” But if you asked concert presenters at top international venues like London’s Barbican Centre to name the really important orchestras, “we might not be on that list,” says Pastreich, the esteemed arts executive who became the PBO’s executive director last spring.

Known for presenting the classics and nurturing emerging singers, Opera San José generally steers clear of contemporary works. Undaunted by audience reaction to modern pieces, General Director Irene Dalis decided to roll the dice and mount a $1 million production of Anna Karenina.