The San Francisco Symphony presents its 18th annual Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration at Davies Symphony Hall on Saturday, November 1. The event features a concert program of traditional and contemporary Latin American music, preceded by a festive array of family-friendly activities. 

Lina González-Granados conducts the San Francisco Symphony in the concert program, which includes music by Ricardo Castro, Paul Desenne, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jimmy López, Arturo Márquez, and Gabriela Ortiz. Cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia joins the Symphony to perform music from Márquez’s Espejos en la Arena, and dancers from Casa Círculo Cultural are featured throughout the concert. 

Every year leading up to the Symphony’s Day of the Dead celebration, the lobbies of Davies Symphony Hall are transformed with immersive art installations and altars built by local artists to honor the living and the deceased. Curated by longtime SF Symphony collaborator Martha Rodríguez-Salazar, this year’s theme honors the memory and perspective of children by commemorating Día de los Angelitos, or Day of the Little Angels, celebrated on November 1. The event includes preconcert activities for families, including live catrinas and interactive altars.