Longtime San Francisco residents may remember Symphony Parnassus’s ancestor, the UCSF Doctors’ Symphony, which began in 1965 when a few doctors’ chamber groups coalesced for the first time into an orchestra.  Reorganized in 1999 as a nonprofit entity with the name Symphony Parnassus, to honor its roots in San Francisco’s Parnassus Heights neighborhood. the orchestra continued to attract top musical talent from the local community. In addition to members of the UCSF community, the orchestra now includes corporate executives, IT specialists, engineers, scientists and educators, as well as music students and professionals.  Over the years, Symphony Parnassus has collaborated with world-class musicians such as pianist Robin Sutherland, violist Geraldine Walther, oboist William Bennett and sopranos Lisa Vroman and Hope Briggs. Ballet legend Rudolph Nureyev made his West Coast conducting debut with our orchestra. Famed jazz saxophonist and composer John Handy premiered his Concerto for Jazz Soloist and Orchestra with us. With its focus on local soloists, composers and artists, Symphony Parnassus plays a unique and vital role in the Bay Area’s arts community.