San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
40 years of building traditions, memories
The year was 1980. Western skies were blackened with smoke from the eruption of Mount St. Helens. The Iran hostage crisis was in its tensest hour. A California politician was in the spotlight as Ronald Reagan was elected president. “Dallas” became mustsee TV when millions tuned in to see who shot J. R.
1980 also saw the first concerts at Davies Symphony Hall, propelling the San Francisco Symphony into an important new era. On the 40th anniversary of this memorable year, we look at some of the major highlights that shaped the future of the Symphony:
A NEW HOME: DAVIES SYMPHONY HALL OPENS
Since 1932, the San Francisco Symphony had shared the neighboring War Memorial Opera House with the San Francisco Opera and Ballet. That changed in 1980 when Davies Symphony Hall ( named for its most generous benefactor and patron Louise M. Davies) was built across the street, the result of twoandahalf years of construction and decades of dreams.
The move gave the Symphony a permanent place to call home and the ability to perform yearround. Some of the first guests to hear a concert in the new hall were the construction workers who built it, in what was billed as a “Hard Hat Concert” three days before the venue’s official debut.
Davies Symphony Hall officially opened with a gala concert on September 16, 1980, led by Music Director Edo de Waart, one of the primary advocates for the new hall. “It puts its arms around you!,” Louise Davies exclaimed about the auditorium bearing her name.
With its new home open for
business, the Symphony looked for ways to make the space inviting to the public. Enter the Symphony’s Volunteer Council who hit on the idea of filling Davies Symphony Hall’s elegantly airy lobbies with an array of beautifully decorated trees during the holidays. The trees provided the backdrop for a special holiday party for children, called Deck the Hall. Louise Davies again played an integral part, not only helping finance the event, but also donning a Santa hat to hand out presents. A new San Francisco holiday tradition was born.
In 2000 the festivities expanded to include Deck the Hall Community Day — a free holiday program serving children, teachers and chaperones from Bay Area public elementary schools, child welfare agencies, child development centers and community children’s centers.
The San Francisco Symphony marks the 40th anniversary of Deck the Hall Dec. 5 and 6 in a special digital concert event featuring host Daniel BartholomewPoyser, conductor Daniel Stewart, organist Jonathan Dimmock, members of the San Francisco Boys Chorus and San Francisco Symphony Chorus and San Francisco Symphony musicians.
This year’s delightful program includes a bundle of holiday hits, including “’ Twas the Night Before Christmas” with NBC Bay Area’s Raj Mathai as guest narrator, music from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” and, of course, beloved singalongs.