San Francisco Conservatory of Music history

Several years after its founding, the name changed to the Ada Clement Music School, and then in 1923 to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

His relationship with the Conservatory began when Ada Clement and Lillian Hodghead visited him in Cleveland, and suggested that he come to San Francisco to teach a series of master classes during the summer of 1924.

In 1925, a five-year-old Russian-born student named Isaac Stern came to Sacramento Street to study with Jeb Clement, Ada's brother.

In 1926, the Conservatory welcomed its first faculty chamber ensemble, the California String Quartet.

In 1928, another young violinist, Yehudi Menuhin -- a 12-year-old prodigy -- began studying at the Conservatory.

When Bloch left the Conservatory in 1930 to compose full-time, Ada and Lillian resumed the leadership of the growing institution.

In an early community service effort, the students performed at the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island, a world fair that brought nearly 100,000 out-of-state visitors to San Francisco in 1940.

In 1948, the internationally renowned Griller Quartet established a summer school at the Conservatory, attracting students from across the United States.

Thirty Lessons for the Beginner is an instruction book written by Conservatory co-founder Lillian Hodghead and first printed by the Conservatory in 1951.

Ada was a dedicated teacher and co-director of the Conservatory for many years, and passed away in 1952.

In 1956 the Conservatory moved from Sacramento Street to 1201 Ortega Street, the home of a former infant shelter.

Musicologist Robin Laufer succeeded Elkus in 1957.

In 1963, the Conservatory became the first American conservatory to offer a degree in classical guitar, and a two-year graduate program with a Master in Music degree.

Appointed president in 1966, Milton Salkind guided the Conservatory through its next great period of expansion.

In 1968 she was appointed to the faculty at SFCM, where she taught for 14 years.

Lillian passed away in 1972 at the age of 85.

In 1974, Conservatory students performed at the gas stations across 19th Avenue as drivers waited in line for gas.

In 1975, May S. Kurka was appointed Director of the Extension Division as well as the Preparatory Division.

Chamber Music West was a summer festival at the Conservatory launched in 1977 that brought together talented students, alumni, faculty, and distinguished artists.

He performed as a member of the New Orleans Symphony, taught at Lawrence University, where he became dean in 1978.

In 1979, the Extension Division launched Sing-It-Yourself Messiah, which became a Conservatory holiday tradition for 26 years.

The first students from the Shanghai Conservatory came to study in San Francisco in 1981, only one year after leaders from San Francisco and Shanghai signed the first Sister City agreement between the United States and China.

In 1985, the Conservatory offered the country's first master's degree in chamber music.

Innovative vocalist Bobby McFerrin was appointed to the faculty at SFCM in 1989 and taught courses in creativity.

The concert was played to a capacity crowd in the Conservatory's Hellman Hall on Sunday, October 21, 1990.

On April 7, 1992 the Conservatory held a press conference in which it discussed it's 75th anniversary and the year-long set of events to come.

1995 was the first year that Conservatory faculty and students wore caps and gowns at commencement.

In 1997, the Conservatory celebrated both its own and composer Lou Harrison’s 80th birthdays with Celebrating Lou Harrison!, a multicultural four-day festival of Harrison’s music, dance, art, and poetry.

Acquired around March 2000, the conservatory's Civic Center location includes two existing buildings, 50 and 70 Oak Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin.

Now we'll share a neighborhood, as well a a mission." In 2001, Colin Murdoch began the capital campaign for $65 million to help fund an $80 million teaching, performance and rehearsal facility.

In 2002 the Conservatory launched BluePrint – an annual new music festival that commissions, premieres and revisits contemporary music from around the world.

Chamber Music West was a summer festival at the Conservatory launched in 1977 that brought together talented students, alumni, faculty, and distinguished artists. It got us to showcase our orchestra and some of our singers, and it got us to Civic Center, so it was a perfect fundraiser." In honor of the 25th anniversary, Mayor Willie Brown proclaimed "SIng-It-Yourself Messiah" day in San Francisco, December 8, 2003.

In his remarks, Tilson Thomas stated, "The Conservatory at the Civic Center completes the circle of symphony, opera and conservatory." Construction began in 2004.

In 2006, the Conservatory relocated to a revitalized Civic Center campus with three state-of-the-art performance spaces, ushering in a new era of growth.

In 2010, the Conservatory marked the 25th anniversary of its chamber music program with a festival and special celebration honoring cellist Bonnie Hampton, the program’s co-founder and a former longtime faculty member.

Since 2012, the biennial _Stephen and Cynthia Rubin Institute for Music Criticism_ has brought together distinguished music journalists, renowned musicians, and aspiring young writers to advance the craft of criticism.

On July 1, 2013, David H. Stull took office as president of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, succeeding Murdoch, who stepped down after 25 years of service.

In 2014, the Preparatory Division became the Pre-College Division.

In 2016, he brought the Stephen and Cynthia Rubin Institute for Music Criticism to SFCM to bring together distinguished music journalists, renowned musicians, and aspiring young writers to advance the craft of music criticism.

The 2017-18 season marked the Conservatory's centennial, which saw the entire SFCM community gather to celebrate 100 years of achievement at the institution.

The Conservatory's Centennial Gala was held on March 19, 2018, an event that saluted SFCM's extraordinary women in honor of the institution's pioneering founders, Ada Clement and Lillian Hodghead.