Upcoming Performances
September 2025
San Francisco Philharmonic Soiree — An Exclusive Benefit Event
Sunday September 14th, 3:00pm
Address shared via email
Join us for an intimate performance featuring cellist Amos Yang and pianist John Wilson in a beautiful Victorian home near Alamo Square Park. The event will include complimentary wine, spirits and appetizers. Address will be shared via email after ticket purchase.
October 2025
All-Beethoven Program
Saturday October 4th, 7:30pm
Herbst Theater
Beethoven, Fidelio Overture, Op. 72
Beethoven, Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C major, Op. 56
Cordula Merks, Violin
Amos Yang, Cello
John Wilson, Piano
Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
About the Soloists
December 2015 marked Cordula Merks’ first season as concertmaster with San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. Prior to that, she served as assistant concertmaster of Seattle Symphony.
Before moving to Seattle, Merks held concertmaster positions with Germany’s Essen Philharmonic, Bochum Symphony, and Bergische Symphony. She has been a guest concertmaster for many orchestras, including the Dresden Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, West German Radio Orchestra, Cologne Opera, and Portuguese National Opera. Merks’ summer appearances have included Claudio Abbado’s Lucerne Festival Orchestra as well as touring in Europe as concertmaster of Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
When not playing in the orchestra, Merks enjoys playing as a soloist and primarily as a chamber musician and has performed in the US, Israel, and all over Europe.
Merks was born in Germany and spent her childhood in Holland. She started playing the violin at 6 and was accepted by the Young Talent Department of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague at 12. Her teachers have included Shmuel Ashkenasi and Herman Krebbers, among others and she holds degrees from the Amsterdam Conservatory and Northern Illinois University.
She has won prizes at all Dutch national competitions, at various concerto competitions, and at several international competitions, including the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria.
Merks is married to contra bassoonist Mike Gamburg, and together they have two children.
Amos Yang is the assistant principal cellist of the San Francisco Symphony as well as professor of cello at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Yang has performed as a soloist and chamber musician collaborating with artists Yuja Wang, Augustin Hadelich, Steven Hough, the Ying Quartet, Vadim Guzman, Jon Kimura Parker and Jeremy Denk.
Yang is committed to expanding the repertoire for solo cello and has made numerous world premieres of works for cello and bass as a member of the duo 2Low. As a teacher, he enjoys teaching all levels whether it is the next generation of professional musicians studying at SFCM or working with amateur musicians making music on their own.
Community outreach also continues to be an important part of his musical journey as he looks to bring music outside of the formal concert hall and into underserved parts of San Francisco.
John Wilson stands at the forefront of American piano music, celebrated for his extraordinary artistry and commanding presence. As the pianist for the San Francisco Symphony and Principal Keyboard for the Marin Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and Oakland Symphony, he has solidified his reputation as one of the most sought-after pianists of his generation. His performances are hailed for their technical brilliance and profound musicality.
The 2024-2025 season features highly anticipated appearances at Carnegie Hall, the San Francisco Symphony Chamber Series, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Wilson will showcase his versatility by performing Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasy” with the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra and Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Marin Symphony Orchestra.
Wilson’s recording achievements include performing on the GRAMMY-winning recording of Michael Tilson Thomas’s Meditations on Rilke. With the release of GRACE: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas on PENTATONE, he continues to shape the landscape of American piano music through his innovative recordings.
December 2025
Wyatt Underhill plays Bruch
Saturday December 13th, 7:30pm
Wilsey Center
Bruch, Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26, Wyatt Underhill Soloist
Dvořák, Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88, B. 163
Additional programming to be determined. Join the mailing list for the latest updates on the 2025-2026 season!
About the Soloist
Violinist Wyatt Underhill has been assistant concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony since 2018. Prior to that position, he held the titles of assistant concertmaster and acting associate concertmaster with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and has served as guest concertmaster of the Kansas City Symphony, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, Wyatt has made appearances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra and the Concord Chamber Orchestra, as well as in recital at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, the Gualala Arts Center and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory and the Juilliard School, he has received top prizes in the Irving M. Klein Competition and the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition.
March 2026
Love and Loss
Saturday March 21st, 7:30pm
Herbst Theater
Tchaikovsky, Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture, TH 42, ČW 39
Brahms, Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98
Additional programming to be determined. Join the mailing list for the latest updates on the 2025-2026 season!
May 2026
SF Philharmonic and Anne Richardson
Saturday May 30th, 7:30pm
Herbst Theater
Cello Concerto, Anne Richardson Soloist
Elgar, Enigma Variations, Op. 36
Additional programming to be determined. Join the mailing list for the latest updates on the 2025-2026 season!
About the Soloist
Anne Richardson was appointed to the San Francisco Symphony as Associate Principal Cello by music director Esa-Pekka Salonen at the beginning of the 2024–25 season. As a soloist, she made her Lincoln Center debut at the age of 19, performing Henri Dutilleux's Cello Concerto, "Tout un monde Lointain..", with the Juilliard Orchestra under the baton of Alan Gilberg at David Geffen Hall. Additional solo appearances include concerts with the Louisville Orchestra, Massapequa Philharmonic, Bryan Symphony Orchestra, and Juilliard's Pre-College Symphony, among others. She has been featured by Lincoln Center’s Great Performance Circle, Juilliard in Aiken Festival, and Vail International Dance Festival, and has also performed extensively as a chamber musician at the Nymphenburger Sommer in Munich, Tegernsee International Music Festival, Wasserburg Rathauskonzerte Series, Rome Chamber Music Festival, Kneisel Hall, United Nations Chamber Music Society, and with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players.
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Richardson completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Juilliard School as a student of Richard Aaron, and earned a doctor of musical arts at the University of Michigan. She was previously an academy fellow with the Bavarian Radio Symphony in Munich, Germany and has performed with the Verbier Festival Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and Pittsburgh Symphony. She was named the Kentucky Center’s Gheens Artist in Residence in 2019 and was a guest faculty member and artist in residence at the 2018 Tennessee Cello Workshop and the Domaine Forget Academy.