A message from the Music Director Dr. German Gonzalez
The 2024 Concert Season: A reflection
Our 2024 concert season has come to an end, and I am so thankful for such a rousing success: 24 concerts without a rain cancellation in the company of enthusiastic audiences!
Each concert had its own unique theme, some similar to years past like collaborations with various community groups, holiday/ patriotic themes, and concerts for music’s sake that spanned from the end of April to the beginning of October.
Our opening concert was well received with a most enthusiastic crowd of 150-200 in attendance. We set the stage for the season with our “An Overture of the Season” theme. We played music that would represent all the different programs we had planned for the season.
Several of our concerts were unique song and dance events featuring Polish, Armenian, Irish, Scottish, Mexican, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Spanish cultures. We also celebrated Pride, Juneteenth, community bands, and NERT (Neighborhood Emergency Relief Team). Our special holiday concerts included a celebration of national holidays, both of which drew our largest crowds of the year estimated at 500+ on the 4th of July and the 2 concerts on Labor Day weekend.
My personal favorite programs were those with music written especially for concert bands. Programs always included music from as early as Bach’s time to pop and jazz. We featured in-house soloists throughout the season and dedicated one for the trumpet section of the band: The Trumpet Palooza. Other themes included Songs and Dances, Musical Treasures, Disney Magic, Tune Town, TV/Movie music, and Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue (we were hoping for a wedding proposal in the middle of the concert; maybe next year).
Hits of the season included many in-house musician solos including: a piccolo solo transcribed from a famous trumpet solo, The Typewriter, Connecticut Half-time percussion feature, the Arutunian Trumpet Concerto, and the Maestro playing Leroy Anderson’s Trumpeter’s Lullaby.
We included the audience with some impromptu audience participation activities including “Name that tune”, shouting, clapping, snapping, and singing. We are grateful to have such responsive audiences each and every week.
Overall, we were pleased with the season. Our audience attendance has increased since the end of the pandemic, and we are especially grateful to our “regular attendees”. Without their support, we could not exist and are appreciative of their generosity as many attendees visited our new friend “Phill-up the Jar”. Thank you for the donations!
The thirty dedicated professional musicians of the band go above and beyond expectations to present an entertaining event every week.
If you have never attended, I encourage you to come and hear us play. It is a 142-year-old San Francisco tradition, and we have begun to plan for even a better 143rd year! I’ve conducted the band since 2022, I served as Associate Music Director in 2023 and then being appointed Music Director in 2024. It is an honor and privilege to lead the San Francisco Golden Gate Park Band and to continue this very special San Francisco tradition for years to come.
Our 2025 concert season spans from the last Sunday in April through the first week in October. We also present concerts on the Fourth of July and Labor Day, all are 1:00PM-2:30PM and are always free. Sign up on for the mailing list on the website so that you learn about the details of the upcoming concert and other news. Thank you for your continued support of the San Francisco Golden Gate Park Band.
Musically yours,
Dr. German Gonzalez
Music Director, Golden Gate Park Band
