San Francisco, CA, USA
Written by Sason Bishope Parry
Photos by Brandon Patoc
Even the rainy skies of San Francisco could not keep audiences away from the San Francisco Symphony’s second SoundBox program of the year. On April 10, the experience began well before the first note, as curator Gabriella Smith dissolved the boundary between performance and environment, transforming SoundBox into a fully immersive “Urban Forest.”
The evening was completely packed, not a single seat in sight, a clear testament to the growing demand for the San Francisco Symphony’s SoundBox series. And if the traditional concert hall is a cathedral built for quiet contemplation, SoundBox reveals itself as something entirely different, a laboratory for bold exploration. Tucked behind Davies Symphony Hall, the industrial space was transformed into an organic, living soundscape. Cacti were thoughtfully placed across the stage, dried leaves lined the tables, and ambient birdsong drifted through the room, creating an atmosphere that felt both rustic and avant garde.
This was far more than creative staging. It was a carefully crafted prologue, a living sonic ecology that invited the audience to step inside the music rather than simply observe it.
The show opened with striking intimacy as bassist Orion Miller performed Heartwood by Samuel Carl Adams. Surrounded by projections of sunlight filtering through a redwood canopy, Miller delivered one of the night’s most compelling performances. Adams’ score demanded extended techniques, blending simultaneous pizzicato and bowing with haunting harmonics. In the close acoustic environment of SoundBox, the double bass became something elemental, pulsing like the heartbeat of the forest.
The program continued with Gabriella Smith’s own Duo Set, featuring Smith on solo violin alongside cellist Gabriel Cabezas. Joined by Daniel G. Smith and Orion Miller on double bass, and percussionists Jacob Nissly, Stan Muncy, Marty Thenell, and Carlos Alvarez, the work expanded into a richly layered texture of strings and rhythm. Cabezas’ tone was direct and expressive, while Smith’s violin lines wove through the ensemble with clarity and purpose, reinforcing the evening’s theme of interconnected sound and environment.
Following intermission, Illuminating Arches by Alyssa Weinberg brought a sense of cinematic beauty to the program. Performed by violinists Victor Romasevich and David Chernyavsky, violists Gina Cooper and David Kim, and cellists Amos Yang and Davis You, the sextet captured the essence of a sunrise over Arches National Park. Light-driven projections enhanced the atmosphere, and while some visuals leaned toward familiar
territory, the ensemble’s musicality remained deeply engaging, building from quiet, nocturnal textures into a radiant crescendo.
A shift into the experimental came with John Cage’s Branches, performed by percussionists Jacob Nissly, Stan Muncy, Marty Thenell, and Carlos Alvarez. Using amplified cacti as instruments, the piece explored unconventional timbres with surprising depth. What might have felt playful instead became a refined study in texture and restraint, handled with precision and sensitivity by the ensemble.
The program also featured a vibrant performance of the second movement, “Assez vif, très rythmé,” from Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in F major. Performed by Leor Maltinski and Polina Sedukh on violin, Katie Kadarauch on viola, and Amos Yang on cello, the piece provided a moment of classical clarity and rhythmic energy, bridging tradition with the evening’s contemporary focus.
Cage returned with Third Construction, again performed by the percussion ensemble of Nissly, Muncy, Thenell, and Alvarez. The work’s intricate rhythmic interplay and layered percussion textures brought a dynamic and electrifying energy to the program.
The evening’s most ambitious offering came with selections from Gabriella Smith’s 2021 album Lost Coast. Performed by Gabriel Cabezas with members of the Symphony’s percussion and bass sections, and incorporating Smith’s electronic elements, the work aimed to serve as the program’s climax.
There were moments of striking beauty, where ethereal harmonics blended with naturalistic sounds to create a vivid sonic landscape. At times, the adapted structure felt condensed, lacking some of the momentum of its original form, but within the experimental framework of SoundBox, it remained a bold and engaging exploration.
SoundBox continues to thrive as the Symphony’s creative laboratory, a space where risk and innovation take center stage. With Urban Forest, Gabriella Smith crafted an experience that was deeply immersive, environmentally conscious, and artistically daring.
The April 10 program proved that the San Francisco Symphony is not only preserving tradition but actively reimagining it. At its best, Urban Forest made the audience feel as though they were not simply listening to music, but living inside it, surrounded by sound, texture, and intention.
For more info on SF Symphony and Soundbox go to: www.sfsymphony.org