Paul Schrage
Conductor and pianist Paul Schrage appears frequently throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and United States, leading from the podium as well as performing as a solo and chamber artist. He currently serves as Music Director of the San Francisco Civic Symphony, as well as Music Director of Symphonia Caritas, a professional orchestra that provides benefit concerts in partnership with other non-profits. Previously, Paul served as Music Director of the Midsummer Mozart Festival for 7 years. Under his leadership, the Midsummer Mozart Festival doubled its audience size, added more concerts to its season, and established the Midwinter Chamber Music Festival. Paul also served as Interim Music Director of the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra.
Guest conducting appearances include Symphony of the Redwoods (as finalist for music director), the Veridian Symphony, San Francisco Civic Symphony, San Francisco Academy Orchestra, Nova Vista Symphony, and Sonoma County Philharmonic, among others. Equally comfortable in symphonic and opera repertoire, Paul has served as music director for several operas. In July 2025 he will direct La Vie Parisienne for Pocket Opera. Recent productions include Don Giovanni with Vegas City Opera and Il tabarro with Teatro Mistral.
As a pianist, Paul has performed in recital, with orchestras, and in jazz settings across the United States, in Europe, Brazil, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He has performed in such diverse venues as the INSAP Festival in Chicago, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the main square in Warsaw, Casa Huey Barbosa in Rio de Janiero, and with the Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste of Kinshasa. Equally at home in the classical and improvisational realms, he frequently performs half classical, half jazz recitals. Artists he has performed with include harpsichordist Jory Vinikour, conductors David Ramadanoff, Armand Diangienda, and Elena Sharkova, trombonist and composer Bobby Brookmeyer, drummers Louis Bellson and Steve Smith, guitarist Gary Wittner, violinists Ian Swensen and Robin Hansen, and singers Christina Major, Kindra Scharich, and Nathan Granner. Paul has strong relationships with living composers, and has performed world premieres of works by Ingrid Stozel, Rubin Zahra, Eric Choate, and Paul Davies, among others. He was the Pianist-in-Residence of the Contemporary American Music Project, where he frequently collaborated with musical theorist and historian Cameron Logan.
Paul has served on the piano faculties of Foothill College, Vandercook College of Music, and the International Summer Jazz Academy.