San Francisco Symphony

Hoa Vo

This is a beautiful, artistic and classy venue, with a retro flair. One can tell that it was built with creative performance concepts and orchestral landscape in mind, made just for shows and concerts that invite the intimate company of an entire orchestra. Though I'm not too fond of driving into the City (it's too chaotic for my liking to be honest), I'm always down to catch a show, a concert or a ballet at venues like this or my other favorite place in SF--the War Memorial Opera House. I had such a lovely time seeing the suited-up gentlemen of Boyz II Men perform here in recent weekend. Some artists just look better in person and some songs just sound even better LIVE. The only downside was the fact that Mike, the bass of the group, was missing. I don't follow celebrity gossip, so I haven't had a clue about what happened to Mike, but his deep deep voice in the background sure made a huge difference in all their songs. However, as a trio, their stage presence was a class act, and their music is still timeless. I mean, you could feeeeeeel the vibration in the symphony hall!!! Or, was that coming from the orchestra? 😁🙃 To me, the best seats in the house are lodge and side box seats--they are smaller sections for small groups, with great view of the stage, a lot fewer bodies around you, and much quieter. They create a more intimate and pleasant experience to enjoy the show. And if you're close enough to the stage, you can see the gray in Shawn's beard. 😆😇 I kid! I kid! P. S. The closest parking structure is Grove St parking garage. It's a quick dash across the street to the Symphony Hall. The parking attendant was so kind--I arrived a bit late and worried about not being able to find a parking space, but he ended up giving me a free VIP reserved spot, without any begging or bribery from me.

Fred Acheampong

If you haven't visited the symphony yet, please do yourself a favor and book tickets ASAP. The orchestra includes world class musicians and we were fortunate enough to see boys 2 men perform with them! The acoustics are great and you can get drinks during intermission. If you have CLEAR, you can upload your vaccine information on your phone for faster entry into the building.

Donna Kim

<Stravinsky & Ogonek> was amazing. Their performance was nice and the audience gave them a standing ovation.

Bartholomew Roland

A very nice symphony hall with a charming concourse can make for an evening of fun. My partner and I visited the SF Symphony last week and had a delightful time. We arrived early and took a drink while sitting in the lounge chairs in the upper concourse. Once the performance started, we made our way to our seats for a few lovely performances. The seating was relatively comfortable though a bit small for my frame. The house was full, but everyone was wearing (K)N95 masks and vaccination records were checked at the door. Parking is located down the street a few blocks.