A San Francisco Evening was composed in 2012 for a commission by Sara Lee. The work premiered in the fall of 2012 at Auer Hall on the campus of Indiana University Jacob s School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, USA. The original composition was written as a viola concerto, while this orchestral score was completed in 2013. The inspiration for A San Francisco Evening emerged from studying historical events of the 1903 Great San Francisco Earthquake. The first movement introduces the quiet of that morning, before the earthquake occurred. There is a surreal uneasiness in the air, as though nature is aware of the impending doom, represented by dogs barking and birds fleeing the city. The second movement is a memorial of the tragedy and the unimaginable loss of life that ensued. The final movement represents the intensity and horrific explosion as the Great San Francisco Earthquake takes its toll.