Introducing one of the most unique orchestras in the nation: The San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra (SFCCO). Founded by Drs. Mark Alburger and Erling Wold in 2001, the orchestra consists primarily of composer/performers, forming a unique ensemble dedicated to democratizing the symphony orchestra, making it available to composers of many styles and in many stages of development, from the established to the very young.

Since our first concert in March 2002, the SFCCO has premiered more new and vital works than any other orchestra in the Bay Area. Many of these composer/performers have advanced degrees; many are highly accomplished and recognized by their peers. Some have performed throughout the world, some have received awards from academic composition prizes to Emmys to fellowships and grants to Academy Awards.

The result is an incredibly diverse offering of new music. In any one concert, the audience may hear styles ranging from the Neo-Romantic, Serial, Neo-Classical, Guided Improvisation, and Minimalist … just to name a few.

The SFCCO takes an informal approach to their concerts, emphasizing communication with the audience, talking to them before, between and after pieces, drawing them into the music-making. We have found that audience members appreciate this, that they learn something about why a piece is the way it is, why it was played a certain way, and that each of them leave the concerts with very different favorites.

The music we play is not museum music. Most orchestras of today play music primarily from the Classical/Romantic period of the 1700s to the 1800s. However, during that era, orchestras presented new works every week. The SFCCO goal is to dramatically reverse this trend by performing 6-8 new works a concert instead of a few a year.

The San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra (SFCCO) is a diverse group of composer-performers from the San Francisco Bay Area who seek to embody the sound of new music in San Francisco through the performance of their own music. SFCCO’s concert series exemplifies the diversity of new music in the Bay Area as well as the creative threads that bind them together, creating a sound that is uniquely San Francisco. SFCCO endeavors to expand the public’s interest in new music through concerts and recording projects.

The San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra has been performing in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area for the six years under the baton of Mark Alburger, conductor, and John Kendall Bailey, associate conductor.