ARTICLES & INTERVIEWS

Ryan Bancroft grew up in Los Angeles … but it’s fair to say he left his heart in San Francisco.

“I was born there; I lived there until I was five; my entire family is from there; it’s the place my family always went on vacation. I wear a Giants hat everywhere. [Even in London, where he lives now.] San Francisco in many ways has always felt like home to me. Every time I go there, it feels like I’m going back to an incredibly special place, not just to me, but to my entire family. So, making my debut with the San Francisco Symphony is amazing! I normally get nervous before big concerts, but this is just going to be a really great time.”

Bancroft’s decision to pursue conducting as a career grew out of a major personal loss. “I had every intention of being primarily a professional trumpet player. And then unfortunately, about 14 years ago, my father passed away. And his most favorite piece was Mozart’s Requiem, which he learned about from going on a date with my mom to see the movie Amadeus.

“I felt I needed to do something for him, so I decided to put together a performance of Mozart’s Requiem with a group of friends in Santa Clarita. It was the very first time I ever conducted something. But I really wanted to honor my dad. And even though it was obviously a somber occasion, something turned on at the exact same time. It felt very authentic.

“Also, I felt really bad at it at first, and I hate being really bad at things! So, I decided just to keep working at it.”

Bancroft was admitted to the conducting course at the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow, while continuing to play trumpet with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, among other ensembles. After two years, he moved on for more conducting studies in the Netherlands. About six years ago, he took top prize at the Malko Competition for Young Conductors in Denmark, and that helped launch an international career, with engagements across Europe and the United States. 

Bancroft’s debut concerts with the San Francisco Symphony this month feature a well-known favorite, Debussy’s La Mer; a violin concerto by Henri Vieuxtemps with Joshua Bell as soloist; and two contemporary pieces in their first Symphony performances: Alaraph ‘Ritus des Herzschlags’ by Unsuk Chin—an SF Symphony commission and US premiere—and Earth by Kevin Puts, also featuring Bell.

The Chin piece translates as “Ritual of the Heartbeats.” “Alaraph is a kind of star known as a ‘heartbeat star;’ they seem to flicker,” Bancroft said. “Unsuk Chin was intrigued by the heartbeat comparison. And as she does in a lot of her pieces, this one is inspired by Korean traditional music. The work is incredibly physical; there’s a lot of energy to it as well. The fact that it’s a US premiere is going to be pretty incredible.”

Contemporary music is very important to Bancroft. “I don’t mean to sound frivolous, but it’s really nice to be able to speak to the people who wrote the music. The most common comment I get from musicians when working on interpreting Mozart, or Bach, is ‘I don’t know.’ We can work collaboratively with a living composer, we can answer our questions together. Besides, in his time, Beethoven wrote new music; Mozart, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, those were all “new” composers at one point. Who are we not to perform these pieces nowadays? Being able to discover new musical languages and become friends with these composers has always really inspired me.”

Bancroft rehearses new pieces in much the same way as the standard repertoire. “Nowadays orchestras are just so remarkably prepared. The musicians show up really knowing their stuff, and the other players’ material as well. With a brand-new piece like Alaraph, rehearsing is all about making sure that everyone’s playing with similar color and character, but above all, just trusting that the musicians are ready to bring the power of the music at the right time. It all tends to work out with really great artists like the San Francisco Symphony.”

And like violin virtuoso Joshua Bell. “The first time I conducted with him, I was a little bit nervous, because I have his autograph from when I was 16 years old. I used to go to the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. One summer he came to play, and all I had for him to sign was the score of Mahler’s Second Symphony. Years later, I was able to say to him ‘We’ve worked together before. And I have your autograph.’”

Time is a precious commodity for conductors, and “spare time” is practically an oxymoron. Does Bancroft have any non-musical pursuits he manages to find time for? “I’m definitely into copious amounts of Netflix. I love walking as well, especially in London; there are so many great places to walk there. Food is always really great. And I’m a recent sumo wrestler fan. I find it fascinating, and I’m interested in learning more about it. But I want to make it very clear. I’m not doing the sumo wrestling!”