Job Details

The Education Department of the San Francisco Symphony is currently accepting applications from ensembles wishing to audition for the 2026-2027 season of Adventures in Music!

Program Overview

The Adventures in Music (AIM) program reaches every single student in grades 1-5 in each of San Francisco's 78 public elementary schools, as well as several private and parochial schools. The program includes a sequence of in-school presentations by trained music ensembles. Selected ensembles work with the S.F. Symphony to develop an educational program and then perform the program in SFUSD elementary schools from January to May of each school year.

• Ensembles are made up of three to four members and represent a wide variety of genres and musical traditions.
• Ensemble presentations are educational in nature and are tailored to each ensemble's genre, instrumentation, and style. The presentation is a mixture of speaking and musicians playing short pieces/excerpts, with an emphasis on student engagement and learning.
• All the presentations in a given season follow an overarching theme, which integrates music with subject matter from a specific curricular area. For the 2026-2027 season, the theme is titled Music Talks! — an exploration of the connections between music and English Language Arts.
• The program is split into two levels: AIM II is for students in grades 1 and 2, while AIM I is for students in grades 3,4, and 5. The San Francisco Symphony's Education Department chooses ensembles for each level.

Auditions

Ensemble auditions for the 2026-27 season of AIM will take place live at Davies Symphony Hall on:

• May 26th, 2026

• June 10th, 2026

• June 11th, 2026

Ensembles should prepare a 15-minute audition program. The presentation should include several musical excerpts, speaking components, and successfully integrate the 26-27 AIM theme.

Next year's AIM theme, "Music Talks!", will focus on language arts and the communicative power of music. This will be done with a special emphasis on promoting listening, reading, writing, speaking, and non-verbal communication skills, as well as an exploration of poetry.

Music

• Each piece should be about 1½ - 2 minutes in length.
• Choose pieces with varied tempos and rhythms in the style of your ensemble.
• Include at least one piece with an audience participation component.
• We also recommend that your audition features some musical excerpts that the students will recognize, as well as a couple of pieces that are considered standards for your ensemble.

Speaking Component

• Keep in mind that you will be playing for an audience of elementary school students who may have little or no knowledge of music. Explain musical concepts in a way that young students will be able to understand.
• Each member of the ensemble must have a speaking role – to either introduce or recap a piece of music (or both!)
• Demonstrate strong presentation skills and the ability to communicate with a large group of children.
• Be playful but not silly. Clearly demonstrate why you enjoy music and performing!

Commitment

• Selected ensembles are required to be available from January through May 2027 for the scheduling of up to 140 performances in San Francisco public elementary schools.
• Approximately 75 available dates will be needed to schedule the ensemble performances. The 75 days exclude school holidays, professional development days, furlough days, and non-pupil days in SFUSD.
• Please note that

  AIM is primarily a morning program.

  Concerts can begin as early as 8:00am! However, there are a number of afternoon performances for certain schools. We will ask for dates on which your ensemble is available between 8:00am to 3:00pm on weekdays.
• Ensembles must be open to shaping their presentation based on the needs of the AIM program.
• Each ensemble will complete four (4)

  paid

  training sessions with the SF Symphony Education team during the Fall of 2026.

If Chosen for the 2027 Season

Ensemble leaders will be notified by the middle of August 2026.

Please consider:

AIM requires commitment to the program. It is essential that 75 days of availability between January and May 2027 are provided to schedule AIM performances. Ensembles must be prepared to prioritize AIM performance schedule once it is set.

Base pay for each ensemble musician starts at $195.00 per service, with an expected 60 service minimum.

Application Process

To apply, please email the following information to Santiago Valenzuela at

...@sfsymphony.org:

• Names and instrument(s)of ensemble members
• Genre or musical tradition of ensemble
• Leader of ensemble
• Contact information for leader
• Preferred audition dates and times

Once we receive the above information, we will be in contact to confirm a specific audition date and time.

Please direct any questions to Santiago Valenzuela at

...@sfsymphony.org.

We look forward to meeting and hearing your ensemble!

AIM Program Team

Education Department

...@sfsymphony.org

www.sfsymphony.org