Description
Since 1938, the Stern Grove Festival Association has presented the Stern Grove Festival, a free, summer performance series
at Sigmund Stern Grove in San Francisco. The Festival has presented more than 800 performances for more than six million concert-goers.
In keeping with Mrs. Stern’s original vision, the Festival has continued to offer admission-free performances by some of the
world’s greatest artists and companies including Kronos Quartet, Isaac Stern, San Francisco Ballet, Opera and Symphony, Diana
Krall, Miriam Makeba, Nancy Wilson, Arrested Development, Dr. John, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Ozomatli, Lucinda Williams, Los
Lobos, Roberta Flack, Joan Baez, and many more. The Rhoda Haas Goldman Stern Grove Festival Archives documents the history
of the Stern Grove Festival and related activities from 1936-2006. The materials are arranged in the following series: Series
I: Programs and Flyers; Series II: Photographs; Series III: Press Releases and Public Service Announcements; Series IV: Administrative
Records and Clippings; Series V: General History and Personal Papers; Series VI: Correspondence; Series VII: Press Books and
Scrapbooks; Series VIII: Artist Proposals and Weekly Reports; Series IX: Financial Records; Series X: Video Recordings; and
Series XI: Audio Recordings.
Background
Since 1938, the Stern Grove Festival Association has presented the Stern Grove Festival, a free, summer performance series
at Sigmund Stern Grove in San Francisco. The Grove was purchased in 1931 by Rosalie M. Stern and given as a gift to the city
of San Francisco in memory of her husband Sigmund Stern. Rosalie Stern worked with architects Gardiner Dailey, Bernard Maybeck
and his assistant William Gladstone on developing the property which included tennis courts, a bowling lawn, and a lake. Maybeck
also designed a music pavilion, and on June 19, 1932, the San Francisco Symphony gave the first performance there under the
direction of Gaetano Merola. In 2004, Stern Grove underwent a $15 million renovation, designed by renowned landscape architect,
Lawrence Halprin. The renovation was completed in June of 2005. The Festival has presented more than 800 performances for
more than six million concert-goers. In keeping with Mrs. Stern’s original vision, the Festival has continued to offer admission-free
performances by some of the world’s greatest artists and companies including Kronos Quartet, Isaac Stern, San Francisco Ballet,
Opera and Symphony, Diana Krall, Miriam Makeba, Nancy Wilson, Arrested Development, Dr. John, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Ozomatli,
Lucinda Williams, Los Lobos, Roberta Flack, Joan Baez, and many more. In addition to the summer concerts, Stern Grove Festival
presents interactive community outreach programs for audiences of all ages. Among these are Kids Days, KidStage, and pre-concert
Artist Talks.