Outdoor performances will return to Stanford’s Frost Amphitheater in July as the Stanford Live Arts Festival presents a schedule of collaborations with the San Francisco Symphony, SFJazz and the San Francisco Ballet.
The monthlong festival runs from July 7 to Aug. 4, and also includes Stanford Live presentations of ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, composer Steve Hackman’s Beatles tribute and the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, Stanford Live announced Friday, April 21.
“This is our third summer festival,” said Laura Evans, director of programming and engagement. “It began as an attempt to do something during the pandemic, and now we feel like it’s turned into a good blueprint for us.
“People love to see dance and hear music outdoors.”
Four weekly Friday night appearances by the Symphony include a program of Elgar and Rachmaninoff conducted by Anna Rakitina on July 7, and a July 21 celebration of Hollywood’s Golden Age led byEdwin Outwater.
That same month, Stanford Live and SFJazz plan to co-present a July 8 appearance by 82-year-old Brazilian luminary Sérgio Mendes and a program on July 27 featuring the Oscar-winning Uruguayan musician Jorge Drexler.
The San Francisco Ballet comes to Frost on Aug. 3-4 under the rubric of “Starry Nights,” with new works byDanielle RoweandYuri Possokhovfrom the company’s recent next@90 festival. The company’s2021 appearance at Frostmarked its first “Starry Nights” live performances following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of the programs presented by Stanford Live alone, Evans said, are an attempt to cultivate a more family-friendly atmosphere, with an earlier start time (6:30 p.m. rather than 7:30 p.m.) and an emphasis on multigenerational appeal. The program of Hawaiian music with Shimabukuro as the headliner also includes appearances by singer-songwriters Anuhea and John Cruz.
Tickets and more information are atlive.stanford.edu/frost.
Reach Joshua Kosman:jkosman@sfchronicle.com;Twitter:@JoshuaKosman