Old First Concerts

We never give a five star… but wow… very affordable for students and amazing concerts… we bought tickets for 3 shows… as others mentioned it’s just a shame that it doesn’t draw a larger crowd.

Over the course of the last 6 years of living in San Francisco, I’ve seen many performances at this venue. For the last 41 years, Old First Concerts has presented music featuring musicians from all over the world. Most of them are from the Bay area.
Last night I was there to hear 2 musicians. Michael Gould performed the first half of the concert. He played solo shakuhachi and also performed a few duets with another shakuhachi player. My friend said it was like being at the Kabuki Hot Springs without the steam.
The second half of the concert featured Mark Deutch playing the Bazantar. You may ask «What is a Bazantar?» It’s basically a double bass fitted with additional drone strings to emulate the sound of a sitar. It was hauntingly beautiful.
The venue is beautiful, stark church with nice acoustics. There is a balcony. It’s a good place if you want to hear talented musicians in an intimate environment for a reasonable price. Most concerts are $ 17.
They have performances every weekend.
Check out their schedule:

I have enjoyed going to this venue since the late 70s. They offer dozens of varied and sophisticated concerts and the soloists and ensembles are always first-​rate. A great resource for local artists and lesser-​known music. The first few rows of the balcony offer wonderful acoustics if downstairs is congested. Street parking is tight but there is an adjacent lot ($ 6). A very informative website also.

They have some exceptional concerts here at a very reasonable price. It’s too bad that they don’t attract a larger audience for them.

I love this venue so much. Aside from the stunning artistic and exquisite design of the church, they showcase some obscure and incredible musical acts.
I love the symphony but find that very often repeated pieces are expo’d. When I first moved to the Bay Area, I was researching alternative concert programs when I came across Old First Concerts. I nearly lost my breath when I saw they were featuring an artist playing all South American pieces including one of my favorites in the universe, Ginastera’s The Danzas Argentinas. The performance was worth the price, which is incredibly reasonable.
A few months later I was lucky enough to catch an artist performing a Terry Riley piece for four hands. Again, an amazing experience.
The quality of the performers and the intimacy of the church make this experience a lasting one. I plan on attending many, many more concerts here.

With my parents visiting and the SF Symphony dark, I looked on SF Gate to find local classical concerts and stumbled upon Old First. I wasn’t expecting much because it’s in a church and tickets are only about $ 15, but I was surprisingly impressed — they have very good performers and acoustics. My parents liked it too!