Gratitude

Bandshell Gratitude

The revival of the old Spreckels Temple of Music is the culmination of a great and sustained wave of generosity, faith, and belief. For more than a century, the old structure sat mostly silent in the Golden Gate Park Music Concourse. But a determined group of people combined their efforts over a two-year period to bring the Bandshell roaring back to life in 2021.

People, as always, make all the difference.

Illuminate is grateful for our constructive relationship with SF Rec & Park, without whose deep support effused every aspect of our journey.  We tip our hat to RPD General Manager Phil Ginsburg and his incredibly talented, thoughtful, and passion-driving team. Thank you for trusting us to work in a space as sacred at the Music Concourse.

We are humbled by the faith placed in us by Carla & David Crane, who gave the initial seed gift and a series of follow-up gifts that gave Golden Gate Bandshell its new life. We had high hopes. Reality is now exceeding them.

We are exceedingly grateful for an early and significant gift from JP Conte, that helped kick a nascent project into gear.

To Jeff Jungsten and Janine Shiota of Jungsten Construction, thank you for the gift of your time and talent in overseeing a complex vision and bringing order, harmony, and focus to a multidisciplinary team–during COVID no less!

To the brilliance of Jonathan Feldman and the indefatigable Nick Polansky of Feldman Architecture, who designed the new curvilinear stage and stage extension, and helped usher the project through a complex permission process, including documentation to add the words LIFT EVERY VOICE to the Bandshell’s crown.

To Norm Schwab and the talented team at Lightswitch who bathed this effort in their illumination expertise, and to Joe Tolle and the team at 4Wall who expertly installed the lighting system.

To Perrin Meyer and his family at Meyer Sound, and to Matt Lavine and his team at BugID, for generously and expertly support in installing and dialing in a world-class outdoor sound system in the heart of Golden Gate Park.

To Lou Ruma and the crew at McMillian Electric, who, though few will ever see it, added hundreds of feet high and low voltage conduit that keeps the system safe and high-function.

To our friends at SF Planning and the SF Historic Preservation Commission whose questions and constraints helped us sharpen our efforts.

To Tyra Fennell and others at the SF Mayor’s office whose wisdom we so value.

Again to Carla & David Crane for doubling down and providing the first seed gift for activation, which at last brought the Bandshell back to life, and then tripling down with a gift to keep the music playing in 2022.

To Keith & Leslie Blodgett whose generous gift for activation is crucial to the success of our Lift Every Voice 2022 live performance series.

We will be forever grateful for meeting and partnering with Steffen Franz, who stepped forward to become the Golden Gate Bandshell Production Manager–and so much more. Steffen is a gift to the City of San Francisco. While others may have set the stage, no one on earth could bring that stage to life as Steffen has.

Lastly, we are grateful to YOU. If you are reading this far, clearly you care. We look forward to experiencing the joy and wonder of live music with you at the Bandshell!