FLOWER PIANO 2022 PROGRAM

Wednesday, September 14

5pm - 6pm, Great Meadow | Fall and Fly: Special Flower Piano Opening Event

Like the opening ceremony for the Olympics, a groundbreaking commissioned work created for twelve grand pianos will be performed on the Garden’s Great Meadow just before Flower Piano. San Francisco-based composer Benjamin Gribble has written Fall and Fly, an incredible 23 minute sonic journey in three movements, exploring the textures of a twelve-piano choir. Stanford Symphony director Paul Phillips will personally conduct this one-of-a-kind performance. Special guest speakers Rebecca Solnit, Gary Kamiya, and poet Agneta Falk will contextualize the evening with themes of transformation, renewal, and regrowth.

Special event ticket required - buy here >>

​

Friday, September 16

10am - 12pm, Great Meadow | Noe’s Garden: Noe's Garden brings a special good morning concert, ideal for children 0 - 7 and their families. Sing, dance, and move your body along to beloved folk songs from around the world, as well as Noe's own nature-inspired originals. Celtic harp, acoustic guitar, and puppetry make this a concert the whole family will enjoy.

12pm - 1pm, Zellerbach Garden | Tom Jonesing: Pop Renovations, Remodeling, and Demolition

1pm - 2pm, Garden of Fragrance | Kitten on the Keys: Cabaret Originals, Unexpected Covers, Nostalgic Flapper Rock

3pm - 7pm, Celebration Garden | Beat Corner: Avante Garden Music and Poetry

Bay Area Poets hosted by Agneta Falk

Music by Mauro, Dean, Antony, Paulo, and others

Angela LaFlamme and Friends, Tribute to Tom Waits

3pm - 4pm, Conifer Lawn | SFJAZZ High School All-Stars: Four-hands performance by Alex and Lucas Perry

​

4pm - 5pm, New Zealand Collection | Ian Scarfe: Masterpieces of Bach, Chopin, List, and Barber

4pm - 5:30pm, Great Meadow | Community Music Center Latin Jazz Kick-off: Community Music Center, celebrating more than a century of music for everyone, hosts a fresh and festive jam session, or descarga, with Eduardo Corzo, pianist and CMC faculty member, with an all-star array of guest musicians. Enjoy music in the open air where the outdoors are your dance floor.

5pm - 6pm, Zellerbach | Tin Yi Chelsea Wong: Drama and Rituals: Bach, Ligeti, Crumb, Liszt

6pm - 7pm, Redwood Grove | Jill Tracy: Mystical, Elegant, Dark, Cinematic, Haunting Sonic Spells   

Saturday, September 17

10am - 12pm, Great Meadow (starting point) | Rabbit Hole Theater Magical Scavenger Hunt: Find magical characters during a family-friendly scavenger hunt through the Garden

12pm - 4pm, Celebration Garden | Duo Piano Program

12pm - 1pm | Ian Scarfe and Elektra Schmidt: Ravel, Poulenc, Gustavino, and PDQ Bach

1pm - 2pm | Regina Myers and Sarah Cahill: Recent Works by Riley Nicholson, Errollyn Wallen, and others

2pm - 3pm | Jennifer Peringer and Lauren Cony: Mozart, Dolores White, Germaine Tailleferre and Gabriela Lena Frank

3pm - 4pm | Allison Lovejoy and Kymry Esainko: Saint-Saens "Carnival of the Animals" with a chamber orchestra featuring members of the Classical Revolution, and Niki Ulehla and her original Puppets!

12pm - 2pm | Twelve Piano Extravaganza

12pm - 1pm

1. Great Meadow | Rob Dehlinger’s Alpha Rhythm Kings: Swingin’ King Size Classic Sounds

2. Celebration Garden | Ian Scarfe and Elektra Schmidt: Ravel, Poulenc, Gustavino, and PDQ Bach

3. Garden of Fragrance | Kevin Gerzevitz Trio: Monkish Bebop and Soul Jazz

4. Rhododendron Garden | Robbie Dehlinger: Original Piano Music Which Honors the Classics

5. Ancient Plant Garden | Trio Poema: Argentine tango Music

6. New Zealand Collection | Amy Norman: Swingin’ Tunes & Sultry Songs

7. South Africa Collection | Samer Fanek: Contemporary Music With an Arabic Flair

8. California Native Garden | Berkeley Academy of Music: 20th Anniversary, Polished Classical and Jazz    

9. Redwood Grove | Marisa Lenhardt and Paul Caccamo: Tells Stories and Sings, Bringing Context to Opera

10. Conifer Lawn | Kymry Esainko: Melancholy Moods to Soothe the Savage Skeptic

11. Moon Viewing Garden | Penelope Keep: Bach, Scriabin, Gershwin, Chopin, & LEHRER!

12. Zellerbach Garden | Classical Revolution: Chamber music for strings and piano

1pm - 2pm

1. Great Meadow | Mr Lucky and The Cocktail Party: Ellington, Mancini, Bacharach, Withers…!?

2. Celebration Garden | Regina Myers and Sarah Cahill: Recent Works by Riley Nicholson, Errollyn Wallen, and others

3. Garden of Fragrance | Rob Reich Trio: Crystalline melodic discoveries, interrupted by improvisational flights                 

4. Rhododendron Garden | Dawn Oberg: Music That Cares About You, The Listener!

5. Ancient Plant Garden | Betty Roi Trio: Authentic Parisian Chanteuse Cabaret sings Cabaret & Jazz

6. New Zealand Collection | Joe Mag, Martuni’s: Pop, Show Tunes, and Sing-a-Longs

7. South Africa Collection | George Brooks, Frank Martin: Original compositions inspired by Jazz, Indian

Classical

8. California Native Garden | Gail Dobson Quintet & Vocal Students: Love’s in Need of Love Today  

9. Redwood Grove | Caroluna and Ian Scarfe: Glorious Opera Arias, Art Songs, and More!

10. Conifer Lawn | Patti Weiss & Bobby Bralove: Beautiful Melding of Improvisational Piano and Violin

11. Moon Viewing Garden | Esther Aeschbach: Bach, Rameau, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel, Gribble        

12. Zellerbach Garden | Earth Wind Flowers: Chamber Music of Various Styles!

3pm - 4pm, Zellerbach Garden | Martin Luther McCoy with Paisley Hinton: Mix of classic Beatles and British favorites as well as soul music and songs of protest involving the works of Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and Sam Cooke

4pm - 6pm, Fountain Plaza | Awesöme Orchestra

Awesöme Orchestra is a full orchestral ensemble that rehearses and then plays famous works with featured performers. 

4pm - 5pm | Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor (first movement) with Elektra Schmidt, soloist
5pm - 6pm | Pines of Rome for full orchestra by Ottorino Respighi, guest conducted by Dr. Sixto F Montesinos Jr

Sunday, September 18

11am - 6pm, Zellerbach Garden | Featured Artists

11am | Tammy Hall and Leberta Lorál: In Gratitude and Acknowledgement of Nature’s Power

12pm | Musica Cubana Quintet: Musica Cubana

1pm | Allison Lovejoy: Romantic, Impressionist, and Modern Masterpieces

2pm | Kev Choice Trio: African-American Piano Music from Classical to Hip-Hop

3pm | Serene: An Epic Adventure

4pm | Mariah Parker: Indo Latin Jazz Quintet

5pm | The Orange Sunshine Experience: Psychedelic Jazz with Drummer Fabio Reis

11am - 6pm, Great Meadow | Featured Artists

11am | Elektra Schmidt: Schumann Kreisleriana and Anna Muravitskaya : Arias and Folk Songs

12pm | Sumi Lee Levy: Current Argentine Tango Music from Buenos Aires

1pm | Kash Killion & Killion’s Trillions: World Music, Sun Ra, Jazz, Reggae, Tango

2pm | Alon Nechustan Trio: 21st Century Piano Adventures in Rhythm

3pm | Lavay Smith: Classic Jazz, Blues, and Early R&B

4pm | Van-Anh: Old World Chopin to New World Disney

5pm | Christian Tumalan’s Trio: Jazz, Brazilian, and Remarkable Hispanic Classics

1pm - 3pm, Conifer Lawn | Little Mission Studio: A fun-loving music school based in the Mission inspiring creativity and cultivating musicianship in the community. Join Little Mission Studio as they present curated performances of both solo and chamber piano music from Little Mission students, ensembles, and faculty members featuring a wide variety of musical styles and genres.

2pm - 4pm, Garden of Fragrance | SF Symphony: Performances by SF Symphony musicians

4pm - 5pm, Conifer Lawn | San Francisco Conservatory of Music: Pre-College pianists

​

4pm - 5pm, Celebration Garden | Oscar Cervarich: Spanning the Romantic era to the Blues, Oscar will play your favorites including Beethoven, Debussy, Chopin and more

Monday, September 19

​

12pm - 1pm, Great Meadow | Danny Sullivan: Mad Scene Medley Explosion!

​

1pm - 2pm, Great Meadow | Kevin Navarro w. Joshua Hughes, Bass-Baritone: Broadway Musical Theater & Great Moments in Opera

2pm - 3pm, Celebration Garden | Erick Peralta in partnership with Community Music Center: The Neo-Creolism of the Peruvian Piano with Erick Peralta: Bringing together his myriad of musical experience and influences, Erick Peralta presents a personal perspective on his native music from Peru, through the voice of the piano. This musical journey will highlight compositions from the música criolla songbook of Peru, blending the traditional sounds with contemporary elements, with the intent of proposing a “nuevo criollo”: the neo-creolism of Peru.

3pm - 6pm, Celebration Garden | Beat Corner: Avante Garden Music and Poetry

Bay Area Poets hosted by Jessica Loos

Music by Mauro, Dean, Antony, Paulo, and others

3pm - 4pm, Zellerbach Garden | Eric Shifrin: Swinging Standards, Bouncy Latin, and Rumpa Chunka

4pm - 5pm, Conifer Lawn | FPM: Vocal/Piano Duo Playing NOLA Jazz Originals    

5pm - 6pm, Conifer Lawn | Mena Ramos & Laura Harris: Afrocuban Folkloric Percussion Meets Classical and Jazz

Tuesday, September 20

12pm - 1pm, Great Meadow | The Cottontails: 20’s/30’s Jazz, 40’s Swing, 50’s/60’s R&B

1pm - 3pm, Zellerbach Garden | Ensemble SF: Formed in 2013 by members of the San Francisco Ballet and Symphony, Ensemble SF is dedicated to inspiring a more inclusive world through art. Elizabeth Schumann on piano, Angela Lee on cello, Matt Young on viola, and Jessica Fellows on violin.

2pm - 4pm, Celebration Garden | Colin Farish & Victoria Theodore: Spontaneous Jazzical Compositions in Serendipitous Coincidence

3pm - 4pm, Zellerbach Garden | Sandra Simich: Debussy, Brahms, Chopin, Beethoven

4pm - 5pm, New Zealand Collection | Eric Chase: Mozart’s Concerto Interiors: Meditations Searching for Tranquility

5pm - 6pm, Garden of Fragrance | Steve Abrams & Heath Proskin : Hard Bop, Swing, Latin Jazz and Salsa

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

EVENT SPONSORS

Delle Maxwell & Patrick Hanrahan

Sue Ann Levin Schiff

Ruth & Ken Wilcox

Marie & Barry Lipman

​

Karen & David Crommie

Elman Family Foundation

​

The San Francisco Garden Club

Jane & Tom Singer

Matthew Cook

MEDIA SPONSORS

• Community Music Center

• Little Mission Studio

• Martin Luther McCoy

• Noe’s Garden

• New Performance Traditions

• Oscar Cervarich

• Rabbit Hole Theater

• SF Conservatory of Music

• SFJAZZ 

• SF Symphony

We look forward to seeing you at Flower Piano—here are some tips to have an enjoyable experience:

​

Getting Here: 

• Walking, biking, and public transit are strongly recommended

• FREE valet bike parking will be provided on the weekend from 10am-6pm next to the Main Entrance to the Garden near 9th Avenue and Lincoln Way

• Traffic and parking can be challenging, especially on the weekends—see our visit page for shuttle, parking, and other details

• Pianos open at 10am but the Garden opens daily at 7:30am—you are welcome to come in to the Garden and get settled before the pianos open but please do not play the pianos before 10am

Program and Map: 

• See the complete schedule here

• Download a program here

• Large scale program signage available inside both entrances and Conifer Lawn

• Map of piano locations available on the Flower Piano webpage and program signage posted in the Garden

Tickets: 

• Please be prepared to show your member card or tickets and IDs when checking in with staff upon entry

• Members, please enjoy expedited entry at the Main Gate via the member line—enter on the Library (south) side of the Entry Garden—thank you for your support!

• If you need to buy tickets onsite please do so with staff at the permanent kiosk at either entance

Food, Drink, Picnicking: 

• Picnicking is encouraged

• Andytown Coffee Roasters will have food and drink available on the weekend at Fountain Plaza 

• Outside food and drink are allowed—amazing local inner sunset food options are available right outside the Garden's Main Gate—reentry allowed—get a handstamp on your way out for reentry

• Camping, folding, and similar chairs and coolers allowed

• No tables or structures

COVID Protocol: 

• If sick, have tested positive, or had a close contact with someone who has Covid please stay home

• Masks recommended indoors such as restrooms, Library, and Bookstore 

Other Preparations: 

• Layers, layers, layers - be prepared with clothes for all weather!

• Sun protection - even in the fog, you can get burned - hats, sunblock, sunglasses all encouraged

• Stay hydrated - water bottle refill stations are available at restrooms and Fountain Plaza

• Comfortable, sturdy walking shoes - the Garden is 55 acres and pianos are spread throughout across various surfaces

• Rain or Shine! Rain currently looks to be likely Sunday through Monday—we are tenting the pianos and the show will go on—we will pause and temporarily shut down pianos if it is steady heavy rain until it passes. We are monitoring the situation closely, some delays may occur but we hope to continue per programmed schedule as best as the weather allows.​​ Stylish umbrellas, rain boots, and other rain gear encouraged ☔ 

• We will share rain, programming, and other dynamic updates as best as possible on our social media channels  

​

Celebrate Flower Piano and Support this Magical Event! 

• Consider making a donation of any size—all support is greatly appreciated—you can even Venmo us @GardensofGoldenGatePark!

• Become a Gardens member and enjoy expedited entry at Flower Piano, guest privileges and more!