San Francisco City Hall is the seat of government for the City and County of San Francisco, California. Re-opened in 1915 in its open space area in the city's Civic Center, it is a Beaux-Arts monument to the City Beautiful movement that epitomized the high-minded American Renaissance of the 1880s to 1917. The structure's dome is taller than that of the United States Capitol by 42 feet. The present building replaced an earlier City Hall that was destroyed during the 1906 earthquake, which was two blocks from the present one. It was bounded by Larkin Street, McAllister Street, and City Hall Avenue (a street, now built over, which ran from the corner of Grove and Larkin to the corner of McAllister and Leavenworth), largely where the current Public Library and U.N. Plaza stand today.The principal architect was Arthur Brown, Jr., of Bakewell & Brown, whose attention to the finishing details extended to the doorknobs and the typeface to be used in signage. Brown's blueprints of the building are preserved at the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley. Brown also designed the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, Veterans Building, Temple Emanuel, Coit Tower and the Federal office building at 50 United Nations Plaza.
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The San Francisco Symphony, widely considered to be among the most artistically adventurous and innovative arts institutions in the U.S., celebrated its Centennial season in 2011-12. The Orchestra was established by a group of San Francisco citizens, music-lovers, and musicians in the wake of the 1906 earthquake, and played its first concert on December 8, 1911. Almost immediately, the Symphony revitalized the city’s cultural life. The Orchestra has grown in stature and acclaim under a succession of distinguished music directors: American composer Henry Hadley, Alfred Hertz (who had led the American premieres of Parsifal, Salome, and Der Rosenkavalier at the Metropolitan Opera), Basil Cameron, Issay Dobrowen, the legendary Pierre Monteux (who introduced the world to Le Sacre du printemps and Petrushka), Enrique Jordá, Josef Krips, Seiji Ozawa, Edo de Waart, Herbert Blomstedt (now Conductor Laureate), and current Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT). Led by Tilson Thomas, who begins his nineteenth season as Music Director in 2013-14, the SFS presents more than 220 concerts annually, and reaches an audience of nearly 600,000 in its home of Davies Symphony Hall, through its multifaceted education and community programs, and on national and international tours. Since Tilson Thomas assumed his post as the SFS’s eleventh Music Director in September 1995, he and the San Francisco Symphony have formed a musical partnership hailed as one of the most inspiring and successful in the country. His tenure with the Orchestra has been praised for outstanding musicianship, innovative programming, highlighting the works of American composers, and bringing new audiences to classical music. In addition, the Orchestra has been recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in music education and for the use of multimedia, television, technology, and the web to make classical music available worldwide to as many people as possible. MTT now is the longest-tenured music director for a major American orchestra, and the longest-serving music director in the San Francisco Symphony’s history. In its Centennial season, the Orchestra reprised its acclaimed American Mavericks Festival of music by pioneering modern American composers, featuring the world premieres of four commissioned works in two weeks of concerts at Davies Symphony Hall and on a two-week national tour, including four performances at Carnegie Hall. The San Francisco Symphony regularly mounts special weeklong semi-staged productions with multimedia, hosted and curated by MTT, and in 2012-13 presented specially staged performances of Grieg’s Peer Gynt and the first concert performances by an orchestra of the complete music from Bernstein’s West Side Story, which were recorded for release on SFS Media. Tilson Thomas and the Orchestra also dedicated several weeks to explorations of the music of Beethoven, selections of which were recorded for SFS Media, and Stravinsky, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the premiere of his Rite of Spring. Since 1996, when Tilson Thomas led the Orchestra on the first of their more than a dozen national tours together, they have continued an ambitious yearly touring schedule that takes them to Europe, Asia and throughout the United States. In March 2014 they return to Europe for a three-week tour performing repertoire from the SFS Media catalogue including John Adams’ Absolute Jest, Ives’ A Concord Symphony, Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, and Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique at two concerts each in London, Paris, and Vienna, and performances in Prague, Geneva, Luxembourg, Dortmund, and Birmingham. In 2012, they performed during a two-week national American Mavericks tour and a two-week tour of Asia with pianist Yuja Wang in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Taipei, and Macau. In 2011, they made a three-week tour of Europe, culminating in Vienna performances of three Mahler symphonies to commemorate the anniversaries of the composer’s birth and death. Recent touring highlights also include a three-week 2007 European tour that featured two televised appearances at the BBC Proms in London and concerts at several other major European festivals. The Orchestra’s recording series on SFS Media continues to reflect the artistic identity of its programming, including its commitment to performing the work of American maverick composers alongside that of the core classical masterworks. The San Francisco Symphony has recorded works from the American Mavericks Festival concerts by Henry Cowell, Lou Harrison, and Edgard Varèse with pianist Jeremy Denk and organist Paul Jacobs, and won a 2013 Best Orchestral Performance Grammy award for its recording of John Adams’ Harmonielehre and Short Ride in a Fast Machine. Other recently recorded works include Beethoven’s Symphonies No. 5, 7, 9, and Piano Concerto No. 4, with soloist Emanuel Ax; Ives’ A Concord Symphony; and Copland’s Organ Symphony with Paul Jacobs. A live performance of John Adams’ Absolute Jest with the St. Lawrence String Quartet and the Orchestra was recorded for future release on SFS Media, and live performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 and Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II was released in November 2013. Tilson Thomas and the Orchestra have recorded all nine of Gustav Mahler’s symphonies and the Adagio from the unfinished Symphony No. 10, and the composer’s works for voices, chorus, and orchestra for SFS Media. Their 2009 recording with the SFS Chorus of Mahler’s sweeping Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand, and the Adagio from Symphony No. 10 won three Grammy awards, including Best Classical Album and Best Choral Performance. Other significant recordings include scenes from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, a collection of Stravinsky ballets, a Gershwin collection, and Charles Ives: An American Journey, among others. In addition to fifteen Grammy awards, seven of them for the Mahler cycle, the SFS has won some of the world’s most prestigious recording awards, including Japan’s Record Academy Award, France’s Grand Prix du Disque, and Germany’s ECHO Klassik Award. Tilson Thomas and the SFS launched the national Keeping Score PBS television series and multimedia project in 2006 to help make classical music more accessible to people of all ages and musical backgrounds. The project, an unprecedented undertaking among orchestras, is anchored by eight composer documentaries, hosted by Tilson Thomas, and eight live concert films; it also includes www.keepingscore.org, an innovative website to explore and learn about music; a national radio series; documentary and live performance DVD and CDs; and an education program for K-12 schools to further teaching through the arts by integrating classical music into core subjects. More than six million people have seen the Keeping Score television series, and the radio series has been broadcast on almost 100 stations nationally. The San Francisco Symphony provides the most extensive education programs offered by any American orchestra today. In 1988, the Symphony established Adventures in Music (AIM), a free, comprehensive music education program that reaches every first- through fifth-grade child in the San Francisco Unified School District. The SFS Instrument Training and Support program reaches students in all San Francisco public middle and high schools with instrumental music programs, providing coaching by professional musicians. The Symphony expanded its educational offerings in 2011-12 with Community of Music Makers, a program that supports amateur choral singers and instrumental musicians with professional coaching by SFS musicians, rehearsals, and other learning opportunities. In development is a revitalized children’s music education website, www.sfskids.org, created in conjunction with the UC Irvine Center for Computer Games and Virtual Worlds. The SFS also offers opportunities to hear and learn about great music through its programs Concerts for Kids, Music for Families, the internationally-acclaimed SFS Youth Orchestra, and annual free and community concerts. January 2014
Built in 1927, the Nourse Theater is a landmark venue located in the heart of San Francisco’s performing arts district (across the street from Davies Hall musicians’ entrance). The hall has been closed to the public for over thirty years. In 2012, City Arts & Lectures began a restoration project and brought the theater back to public use in 2013. The hall features excellent acoustics, a well-designed layout offering unobstructed views throughout the orchestra and balcony, and original architectural details. City Arts & Lectures has refurbished the 1,689-seat hall, installing state of the art lighting and high quality sound equipment including Meyer speakers, new curtains, plush upholstered seats, newly decorated green room, and a dressing room. The Nourse is an ideal venue for a wide range of performances and a uniquely beautiful setting.
The Herbst Theatre is an auditorium in the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in Civic Center in San Francisco, California, United States. The 928-seat hall hosts programs as diverse as City Arts & Lectures, SF Jazz, and San Francisco Performances.Architecture and decorationOriginally designed as the Veterans Auditorium, the theatre was refurbished and renamed Herbst Theatre in 1977 in honor of brothers Herman and Maurice Herbst, whose foundation underwrote the renovations. It is entered through a foyer off of the building's main lobby. Eight large beaux-arts murals, created by Frank Brangwyn for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, adorn the walls while overhead five chandeliers hang from the blue and gold-leaf ceiling.United Nations CharterOn June 26, 1945, the United Nations Charter was signed on the stage of the Herbst Theatre by the group of 50 founding nations, following the two-month-long United Nations conference at the War Memorial Opera House.
We offer amazing and delicious cocktails, crafted with quality, fresh ingredients and served by friendly mixologists.
The San Francisco Arts Commission is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy. Our programs include: Civic Art Collection, Civic Design Review, Community Investments, Public Art, SFAC Galleries and Street Artist Licensing. To learn more visit, sfartscommission.org
Come celebrate evenings in the Presidio! Presidio Twilight takes place on the Presidio’s lush Main Parade Ground, with gorgeous views of the park and the sun setting over San Francisco Bay. Enjoy free sunset yoga, lantern-lit cabanas, shared fire pits, and live music from local musicians. The best of the Bay Area food scene, cocktail service, and a convivial communal atmosphere make this one of the city’s best places to gather. Enjoy an evening in the park, and make plans for a return visit. Sponsored by the Presidio Trust and Off the Grid. More on the Presidio at www.presidio.gov.
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BOARD 2014-2015 Emily Hu, President Chris Correa, Vice President Susan Lin, Secretary Wilson Yan, Treasurer and Immediate Past President Jane Burkhard, Immediate Past President Christopher Correa Lena Gikkas Julie Hall Vanessa Jn-Baptiste Elizabeth Sgarella Sunil Sharma, Gala Chair Maggie Winterfeldt Clark
The Mixed Roots Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (tax exempt public charity) and is the first and only national and global multicultural adoptee led foundation that cross sects the international, domestic, and foster care adoption experience. The primary role is to bring people and organizations together to make a difference and leave a legacy for the adoptee community and their families by guiding philanthropy to where it makes the most impact within the adoptee community. By streamlining funding and more post adoption resources that address the full life cycle of the adoptee, we will be focusing on five core areas of community support including science, family & health, diversity, arts & culture, education & career development, business & technology, and financial planning & philanthropy. We will leverage the power of Mixed Roots Media to help message and create the awareness needed to empower adoptees and their families to share their own adoption experience as well as educate others about these important resources: Mixed Roots Productions, Publications, Partners, and most importantly Programs that will offer specific mentoring, scholarship, fellowship, and grant opportunities for all adoptees, their families, organizations, and communities they live in. Any/all donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law. FEIN#: 45-2207782
Capturing the Talent, Energy & Expertise of People 50+!
The Free Farm is an all volunteer urban farm founded in January 2010, by a constellation of non-profit organizations in San Francisco. We are located on a 1/2 acre lot on the corner of Eddy & Gough St. near Civic Center and the Western Addition. The land is generously loaned to us by St. Paulus Lutheran Church (it is the site where their beautiful church burned down in 1995). We grow produce and flowers to give away at two Free Farms Stands, one in the Mission on Sundays and one on the farm on Saturdays. We have a large greenhouse and grow seedlings and starts and propagate plants and trees not only for our farm, but to give away to other gardeners and at our Free Farm Stands. We have two workdays a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays and also offer educational tours and opportunities for groups to visit, volunteer and learn about organic gardening. We like to say as farmers we are interested in growing soil that will feed the plants. We also believe in growing community and promoting our spiritual growth. So in a way we think of our farm as a resurrected church or sacred space without walls. One of the first things we did when we started is to build a labyrinth herb and flower garden so people could practice walking meditation or prayer. We also encourage yoga and sitting in silence in the morning before the work day begins, and at noon we take a break to share a vegan lunch with volunteers. We also serve as a free neighborhood garden resource center. We offer seedlings, compost and manure, and garden advice to neighbors that want to start a garden or have a garden and need some free supplies. Plus we host schools, religious, and other community groups for workdays and tours.
Too many students in the Bay Area are failing. About half of the one million students who attend public school are not performing at grade level. One third of all students drop out of school before graduating. Of those who do graduate, only one third meet the requirements to apply to a four-year college. Among the Hispanic and African American subpopulations this rate is significantly lower. The solution to this problem is not simple. We need better teachers, better curricula, more resources. In addition, we need to address the physiological conditions that too often are undermining the children's readiness to learn and the teachers' ability to teach effectively. Paramount among these are stress, sleep deprivation, and malnutrition. Sleep deprivation is also a major problem. It has been called the biggest brain impairment, and it is widespread. In one recent survey more than 25% of students reported being very tired frequently in school. Malnutrition is also widespread in the US today. Thirteen million children in the US suffer from the most severe form of malnutrition - hunger - but many times this number suffer from diets that undermine the ability to focus and promote ill health. There are two poles to the education process - the objective pole, the knowledge that the student is supposed to learn; and the subjective pole, the student who is doing the learning. CWAE provides programs that focus on the physiological conditions that impair mental and physical functioning, strengthen the subjective pole and thereby create a foundation for school learning and healthy student development. Stress is a pervasive problem among students in our nation's schools, leading to negative school behavior, attention deficits, anger, violence, and poor physical health, including high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. It is a particular problem for students in inner-city schools, who suffer disproportionately from major life stressors, including poverty, violence, and broken families. It is an important factor impairing student readiness to learn and psychological health and an important factor undermining the creation of school environments conducive to learning.
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Women Who Code is a global 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to inspiring women to excel in technology careers. We provide an avenue into tech, empower women with skills needed for professional advancement, and provide environments where networking and mentorship are valued. The organization has executed more than 4,200 events around the world, garnered a membership exceeding 80,000, and has a presence in 20 countries.
Welcome to the Facebook home of San Francisco Ballet! Here you’ll find our most up-to-date news, dance videos, behind-the-scenes photos and lively debate, as well as exclusive ticket offers—all brought to you by our resident Facebooker. You can also explore our intriguing history and photo archives via our Timeline. So if you’re a fan of SF Ballet, dance, performance, or just the arts in general: join us. We want to talk to you! (FYI, we want to keep this a fun, safe, informative space for our fans, so please: no spamming, commercial or external promotion, duplicate or irrelevant posts. We appreciate your help in keeping this Page free of profanity and offensive or hurtful comments. We reserve the right to remove any posts that we believe do not adhere to these guidelines.)
Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center is a health services, education, research, and policy organization. Our mission is to educate, support, empower and advocate for Asian and Pacific Islander (A&PI) communities—particularly A&PIs living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS.
Good nutrition enables our clients to better manage the symptoms of disease, mitigate the side effects of treatment, and can speed recovery. Our registered dietitian supports and counsels our clients to help them feel better by eating right. In addition to providing life-sustaining food to our clients, Project Open Hand nourishes our entire community by engaging thousands of volunteers and donors, as well as dozens of local companies, in the important work of feeding neighbors in need.
Founded in 1974 by Dr.Charlie Garfield at the UCSF Cancer Institute, Shanti was one of the first-ever volunteer organizations to work with terminally-ill individuals, and later became one of the very first community-based HIV/AIDS organizations in the world. Shanti has trained over 15,000 volunteers in the Bay Area and 600 organizations world-wide in the Shanti Model of Peer Support, and in the Bay Area alone, Shanti volunteers have provided over 3 million hours of care-giving. Each year, Shanti serves over 2,400 people with Breast Cancer or HIV/AIDS. For so many of those clients, Shanti represents the difference between zero and one-the difference between a client having to face a life-threatening illness alone or having at least one caring presence at his or her side.