Violinist Alexi Kenney Curates SF Symphony SoundBox ‘Dream Awake’ Concerts Exploring Dreaming and Waking States

A SoundBox program built around a modern classic

San Francisco Symphony’s SoundBox series returns on February 6 and 7, 2026, with “Dream Awake,” curated by violinist Alexi Kenney. The performances begin at 8:30 p.m. in the SoundBox space inside Davies Symphony Hall, with general-admission doors opening at 8 p.m. Tickets are listed at $80, and the events are restricted to audiences 21 and older.

Kenney’s concept centers on “Kafka’s Fragments,” a 1987 song cycle by Hungarian composer György Kurtág for soprano and violin, built from short texts drawn from Franz Kafka’s notebooks and writings. Kenney has described the work’s repeated alternation between sleep and waking as a springboard for a broader program focused on the psychological and sensory boundary between dream states and everyday consciousness.

Mostly living composers, with one late-20th-century anchor

In keeping with SoundBox’s emphasis on contemporary and exploratory programming, “Dream Awake” is expected to include music by mostly living composers alongside Kurtág’s cycle. Works connected to the program include pieces by Dylan Mattingly, Paul Wiancko and Peter Shin, as well as music by Kaija Saariaho (1952–2023). Another composer represented is Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001), whose percussion work “Pléïades” has been cited as part of the show’s sonic palette.

While SoundBox listings note that program details may be held back until performance time, the framing of “Dream Awake” positions the concert less as a conventional repertory night and more as an immersive narrative assembled from contrasting textures: vocal writing, solo strings and percussive sound worlds.

Guest artists and a multidisciplinary production

Soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon is slated to join Kenney for excerpts from “Kafka’s Fragments,” pairing voice and violin in the intimate format Kurtág wrote for. The production also incorporates visual design: lighting by Luke Kritzeck and video by Adam Larsen, continuing a collaborative approach Kenney has used in prior multidisciplinary projects.

SoundBox events are staged in a club-like backstage environment at Davies Symphony Hall, combining projections, lighting design and a bar setting with chamber-scale performance.

What to know before attending

• Dates and time: February 6–7, 2026; show at 8:30 p.m., doors at 8 p.m.

• Venue: SoundBox space, Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco

• Admission: General admission listed at $80; must be 21 or older

• Artists: Alexi Kenney (curator/violin) with San Francisco Symphony musicians; soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon featured in Kurtág selections

“Dream Awake” also serves as the opening SoundBox offering of the Symphony’s 2025–26 season lineup, continuing the series’ focus on late-night, multisensory presentation and curator-led programming inside one of the city’s central performing-arts venues.