Super Bowl 50 Countdown: SF Symphony and NFL Team Up For ‘A Concert of Champions’

Davies Symphony Hall
Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall

Photo Credit: Courtesy San Francisco Symphony

The countdown is on for Super Bowl 50, taking place Feb. 7, 2016 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. In the days leading up to the big game, there will be a slew of haute events taking place from Napa to Carmel. We’ll tell you about at least one different event each week so you can make plans to be a part of the festivities. This week’s news comes from the San Francisco Symphony, which joins the San Francisco Bay Area’s Super Bowl 50 festivities with two events celebrating the intersection of sports and music on February 3-4, 2016 in Davies Symphony Hall.

Hosted by NFL Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen, the concerts feature the iconic music and filmmaking of Emmy Award-winning NFL Films, with conductor Joshua Gersen leading the Orchestra in live accompaniment. Images captured by NFL Films’ cameras over the years will be projected on the stage.

The SF Symphony will provide live orchestral accompaniment to a selection of short documentaries produced by NFL Films, featuring original scores by composers David Robidoux, Thomas Hedden and Sam Spence. These short films cover topics including the history of the NFL, Super Bowl moments, the life of NFL Films founders Ed and Steve Sabol, and the best of NFL Films’ well-known football follies. The SFS will also perform a selection of orchestral works, to be announced at a later date.

Prior to the Wednesday, February 3 performance, elevated dinner packages are available for guests to experience a tailgate like no other. Dinner package tickets begin at $1,000 and include a 5 p.m. cocktail reception in Davies Symphony Hall’s Wattis Room and a 6 p.m. dinner held in Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall A.  Dinner packages are available by contacting the Volunteer Council at (415) 503-5500 or online at www.sfsymphony.org/NFL. The pre-concert dinner is chaired by Karen & Ronnie Lott and Marcia & John Goldman.

Proceeds from the February 3 dinner benefit the San Francisco Symphony’s educational and community programs, which reach hundreds of thousands of people of all ages throughout Northern California, touching a broad economic and cultural cross-section of the population.

Concert tickets range from $50-$195 and include access to the pre-concert lobby activities in Davies Symphony Hall. These tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at 415-864-6000, at www.sfsymphony.org/NFL, or at the box office located on Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street.

Conductor Joshua Gersen
Conductor Joshua Gersen

Photo Credit: Courtesy San Francisco Symphony