Program Note

Tumblebird Contrails is inspired by a single moment I experienced while backpacking in Point Reyes, sitting in the sand at the edge of the ocean, listening to the hallucinatory sounds of the Pacific (the keening gulls, pounding surf, rush of approaching waves, sizzle of sand and sea foam in receding tides), the constant ebb and flow of pitch to pitchless, tune to texture, grooving to free-flowing, watching a pair of ravens playing in the wind, rolling, swooping, diving, soaring—imagining the ecstasy of wind in the wings—jet trails painting never-ending streaks across the sky. The title, Tumblebird Contrails, is a Kerouac-inspired, nonsense phrase I invented to evoke the sound and feeling of the piece.

—Gabriella Smith

Past Performances

Dec.8.2023: Nobel Prize Concert, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, Konserthuset Stockholm, Sweden (more info) *country premiere

May.23.2023: Czech Philharmonic conducted by John Adams, Dvořák Hall, Prague, Czech Republic (more info) *country premiere

Mar.16.2023: San Francisco Symphony conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, Germany (more info)

Mar.13.2023: San Francisco Symphony conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg (more info) *country premiere

Mar.11.2023: San Francisco Symphony conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, Philharmonie de Paris, Paris, France (more info) *country premiere

Mar. 1 & 2, 2023: San Francisco Symphony conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, California (more info)

Feb.24.2023: Oakland Symphony conducted by Vinay Parameswaran, Paramount Theater, Oakland, California (more info)

Jan. 28 & 29, 2023: Santa Cruz Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Stewart, Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz, California [Jan.28] & Watsonville, California [Jan.29] (more info)

Jan. 19 & 20, 2023: Berner Symphonieorchester conducted by Robert Trevino, Casino Bern, Switzerland *country premiere

Jan 12, 13 & 14, 2023: North Carolina Symphony conducted by Stephanie Childress, Wilmington [Jan.12] & Raleigh [Jan.13-14] (more info)

Nov. 3, 4, 10 &11, 2022: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, and Napier (more info) *country premiere

Oct. 22, 23 & 24, 2022: Oregon Symphony conducted by Carlos Kalmar, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, Oregon (more info)

Sep.18.2022: Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg conducted by Andre de Ridder, Freiburg, Germany *country premiere

Jul.17.2022: Colorado Music Festival Orchestra conducted by John Adams, Chataqua Auditorium, Boulder, Colorado (more info)

Mar.6.2022: San Francisco Youth Symphony conducted by Daniel Stewart, Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, California

Feb. 4, 5, & 6, 2022: The Cleveland Orchestra conducted by John Adams, Mandel Concert Hall, Cleveland, Ohio

Jan. 28 & 29, 2022: St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Adams, Powell Hall, St. Louis, Missouri

Nov.7.2021: Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Elim Chan, Royal Festival Hall, London, UK *country premiere

Oct. 2, 3, & 4, 2021: Santa Rosa Symphony conducted by Francesco Lecce-Chong, Weil Center at the Green Music Auditorium, Santa Rosa, California

May.23.2021: LA Phil, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel The Barbican Hall, London, UK *European premiere (Canceled due to Covid-19)

Oct. 1, 2, 3, & 4, 2020: LA Phil, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, Carnegie Hall, New York *East Coast premiere (Canceled due to Covid-19)

May.3.2019: Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra conducted by Vinay Parameswaran, Cleveland, Ohio

Jan. 10 & 13, 2019: LA Phil conducted by John Adams, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, California

Feb.15.2018: Eugene Symphony conducted by Francesco Lecce-Chong, Hult Center, Eugene, Oregon

Oct. 7 & 8, 2016: Nashville Symphony conducted by Vinay Parameswaran, Shermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, Tennessee

Oct.5.2015: Nashville Symphony conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero, Shermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, Tennessee

Aug.9.2014: Cabrillo Festival Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop, Santa Cruz, California [World Premiere]

Read More:
California Soundscapes: Composer Gabriella Smith (Tumblebird Contrails)—San Francisco Symphony, Mar.1.2023
Celebrating the joy of climate solutions with music—Adventures in Music, Jan.27.2024
Conductor Vinay Parameswaran Stands on the Edge of a Major Career—San Francisco Classical Voice, Feb.14.2023