The center also provides educational opportunities to students and the community including lectures, master classes, artist residencies, mentoring and school outreach.
Ginwala, a renowned conductor who also serves as director of San Francisco State’s School of Music, began July 1.
“A consummate professional who has taught at San Francisco State University for 13 years and counting, Cyrus Ginwala is poised to elevate the Morrison Chamber Music Center to new heights for music lovers of all ages and backgrounds,” says J. Dennis Bonney, a trustee of the May Treat Morrison Trust, which helps fund the center. “Maestro Ginwala’s expertise in music education, specifically, will help create deeper connections between students and the world’s best contemporary chamber musicians.”
Over the next three years, Ginwala plans to offer donor benefits including premium parking and a VIP lounge. He also plans to present more educational events.
“The Morrison will continue to do what it has done for 60 years: provide free chamber music for new audiences. Over the next three seasons, we will expand the residency activities of the visiting chamber music performers, to increase their interaction with students and audiences both on and off campus,” Ginwala says. “We are grateful to the stewards of this amazing institution, the May Treat Morrison Foundation, including Jane Galante, who shaped the vision for so many years, as well as the current trustees, who have been so supportive.”
Ginwala replaces composer Richard Festinger, also a San Francisco State Music professor who had served as artistic director since 2011.
Ginwala has appeared with the Roanoke Symphony, Boca Pops, National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, Aspen Concert Orchestra and Sewanee Summer Festival Orchestra. He has served as visiting faculty at the Peabody and St. Petersburg conservatories. He has conducted concerts throughout the Bay Area with orchestras including the American Philharmonic, Bay Area Rainbow Symphony and Diablo Symphony.
Ginwala has served as music director of the Young Victorian Opera Company and Symphony of the Mountains, resident conductor of the Sewanee Summer Music Center and conductor of the Musica Piccola Summer Orchestra at North Carolina School for the Arts. After completing a Bachelor’s degree in piano at Boston University, he earned Master’s and Doctor of Music degrees in orchestral conducting at the Peabody Conservatory.
The Morrison Artists Series’ 2018 – 19 season begins with the Alexander String Quartet, San Francisco State’s quartet-in-residence, on September 16 at 3 p.m. The rest of the season features the Orlando Consort on October 26 at 8 p.m., Thalea Quartet on December 2 at 3 p.m., Nordic Voices on February 10 at 3 p.m., Music from Marlboro on March 10 at 3 p.m., Ancuza Aprodu Trio on April 12 at 8 p.m. and Jack Quartet on May 12 at 3 p.m.
A pre-concert talk, delivered by Ginwala and other experts, and a master class led by Morrison Artists Series ensembles accompany each concert.
The Morrison Chamber Music Center is based in San Francisco State’s College of Liberal & Creative Arts. Visit the Morrison website or call (415) 338-2467.
About San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a doctoral public university serving students from the San Francisco Bay Area, across California and beyond, with nationally acclaimed programs that span a broad range of disciplines. Nearly 30,000 students enroll at the University each year, and its more than 249,000 graduates have contributed to the economic, cultural and civic fabric of San Francisco and beyond. Through them — and more than 1,700 world-class faculty members — San Francisco State proudly embraces its legacy of academic excellence, community engagement and commitment to social justice. For more information, visit SF State's website.
Photo by Teresa Tam