Flower Piano IX : SF Botanical Garden, September 13 - 22, 2024

In September of 2024, for the ninth time, Sunset Piano placed over a dozen perfectly tuned and maintained grand pianos in the San Francisco Botanical Garden for its premier event of the year, Flower Piano ®. Flower Piano may be the world’s only interactive music festival. Over a hundred amazing performers and ensembles shared the Garden’s 55 acres with everyday superstars who came to play among the glorious flora. We’ll be back in the Garden in September of 2025 for our tenth Flower Piano… stay tuned!

Here are a few highlights from Flower Piano IX:

The Flower Piano Lounge kicked off Flower Piano with a special Opening Night Show, featuring incredible soloist Alejandro Del Valle opening for Orquesta La Moderna Tradición, bringing their sweet yet powerful sound of the Afro-Cuban charanga orchestra, with violins and woodwinds interlocking with driving afro-Cuban rhythms. The Lounge hosted some amazing bands, with adult refreshments and great food.

  • Composer Kennedy Realness was commissioned by Sunset Piano to produce a unique installation in the Garden’s Redwood Grove. Musicians were spread throughout the Grove, playing a composition that the listener must wander on a trail to experience.

  • Allison Lovejoy headed an all-star mini orchestra, with marionettes by Niki Ulehla performing Carnival of the Animals, by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, in two performances. Another marionette program by the Puppetoon Players alternated with them, with live music by Michael McIntosh.

  • Also on September 21, the first (annual?) FLOWER PIANO FASHION SHOW graced the Great Meadow. Outrageous fashions by DASOWL City College Fashion Program students and faculty, and… YOU! Many took a turn on our 20 foot catwalk and parade stage, and won a fabulous prize! Hosted by Baron Scott Levkoff and Ifn Whendy Darling, with live piano accompaniment by Danny Sullivan, music director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus!

  • On each of the two Sundays, we hosted our Featured Artist Stage at Zellerbach Gardens. Some of the best music in town on a lush meadow with great sound!

  • Lunchtime concerts happened every weekday, Beat Corner hosted by Sunset Piano and your favorite North Beach poets, and SO much more!

Our thanks to our fabulous partners, the Gardens of Golden Gate Park, as well as the generous sponsors, staff, and volunteers that make Flower Piano possible.
Love, Dean and Mauro and the Sunset Piano Crew