Summer Camp Season at CMC Is Almost Here
There is a kind of magic that unfolds at music camp each year, as friendships form, confidence grows, and music comes alive. Kids walk in on Monday a little shy, instruments in hand, and by Friday they are performing together like they have been playing as a group for years. “Camps are an immersive experience […]
Taking Pride in Trans & Queer Artistry: NVBA Returns for Fresh Meat Fest’s 25th Anniversary
As Pride Month begins, the city comes alive with a myriad of exuberant events as only San Francisco can. Join us in celebrating LGBTQ+ history, community, and artists past and present through music! CMC’s tuition-free New Voices Bay Area Transgender, Intersex & Genderqueer Chorus (NVBA) will return to perform at the 25th Annual Fresh Meat […]
Every June, the Stage Belongs to Them
Once a year, we take a moment to recognize the students who have gone the extra mile. The Annual All-School Recital brings together students of all ages and levels for an afternoon of performances. Free and open to everyone, it’s one of those events that shows just how much is happening at CMC throughout the […]
Faculty Shine on Stage with Free Summer Series
This summer CMC is excited to turn the spotlight on our talented faculty members with the return of our annual Shenson Faculty Concert Series! The treasured tradition—supported by the Shenson Foundation—delights with four free and inspiring concerts that put the broad artistic landscape within the CMC community on full display. The concerts highlight unique CMC […]
Congratulations 2026–2027 Merit Scholars!
Each year, a jury of CMC faculty and staff auditions students for scholarships for the coming school year’s private lessons. These awards are based on need and merit. This year the jury heard dozens of students perform a wide and varied repertoire. The jury wishes to thank everyone who helped prepare students for the juries […]
Field Day at 10: Voices from the Community
Ten years ago, CMC’s Program Director Sylvia Sherman heard about a Performathon at a community music school in New York and thought, “We could do something like that.” What started as an experiment for CMC’s 95th anniversary has grown into a full day of music that spills out into the courtyard, the hallways, and every […]
Voices Taking Space: Collaboration and Identity through Music
This spring CMC proudly participated in a choral collaboration in celebration for in an affirming celebration of identity, joy, and resilience featuring an intergenerational mix of professional, community, and youth singers. In partnership with 21V, a professional treble ensemble of soprano and altos of all gender identities and their pilot Transgender Youth Choir Project, 10 young […]
The Mission District as a Stage for the World
Interview with Delina Brooks, Co-Producer of the San Francisco International Arts Festival. Delina Brooks grew up in the Mission District, and as an Afro-Filipina artist and Co-Producer of the San Francisco International Arts Festival, Delina carries the neighborhood in the way she thinks about art and about who deserves to be on a stage. This […]
Ten Years of Field Day: A Celebration That Keeps Growing
Development Director Elenka Refsell looks back on a decade of music, community, and tuition support at CMC When San Francisco Community Music Center launched its first Field Day Performathon ten years ago, nobody really knew what to expect. Development Director Elenka Refsell had seen similar fundraising models work for organizations like the AIDS Walk and […]
Gather Together: Music of Connection and Collaboration CMC Concert Hall | Sunday, April 26 at 3 pm
This year’s Juliet McComas Keyboard Marathon, Gather Together: Music of Connection and Collaboration, grew out of a simple but meaningful idea: strengthening connection within our piano faculty. During an October faculty meeting, several members expressed a desire to build more connection across the department and to involve colleagues who had not participated before. From that […]