FAQs

When is M+V Fest 2023?

Thursday, August 17th 6pm PST to Sunday, August 20th, 2023 12pm PST.

Where is M+V Fest 2023 happening?

San Francisco, CA: Barbro Osher Recital Hall, inside the Bowes Center at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, located at 200 Van Ness Ave. San Francisco, CA 94012.

What’s the best airport to fly into?

The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is a ~25 minute ride away from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Additionally, the Oakland International Airport is a great option too, just about a 45-60 minute car ride.

Do you have any transportation recommendations for getting around SF?

There are multiple public transport systems connecting SFO, downtown, and all areas of San Francisco, called BART and MUNI, as well as standard ride share options like Uber and Lyft. So you should not need a car for you stay! The BART runs from SFO (directly) and OAK (with transfer), learn more here.

Where do I stay for M+V Fest 2023?

Housing is not included in your festival pass, but there are lots of housing options available around San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Please use reputable housing services like Airbnb and Vrbo. We do have a discount code for the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, which is a short 8 minute transport from SFCM.

We are also working on making a Facebook group for participants to connect and share housing with one another – both local and visiting, so check back soon for that link!

Who is responsible for M+V Fest 2023?

To learn more about how M+V Festival came to be, take a look at our About M+V page. This year’s main organizing team is Kristen Klehr, Rosie Cerquone, Lee Hinkle, and Brian Calhoon, all of whom will be attending in person except for Brian (we’ll miss you, Brian!).

Is there an age range for M+V?

M+V is for percussionists 18 years old and up.

Do I need to be experienced in the combination of mallets + voice to attend?

Great question, and the answer is (drum roll, please)… NO! You don’t have to be super experienced in this very niche field to attend. But we do recommend you have a lot of excitement, interest, and curiosity in learning about it since it’s all we’ll be talking about for 3 whole days!

In our first ever M+V Fest in 2019, we had a wide range of people who attended – some people had only just begun putting mallets and vocals together, and for others it was one of their core focuses in their artistry. Many people were focused on singing and playing, while others brought their talents combining spoken word and percussion. If you have or want to combine your voice and mallet percussion in any way, you are welcome.

Do I need to bring my own instrument?

Nope! We will have several marimbas and vibraphones available for Attendee Artists to practice and perform on. If you have a very specific set-up or instrumentation for a piece you would like to share, you will need to provide anything outside of those mallet instruments.

Do I get to perform in one of the evening concerts?

The Thursday evening concert is a welcome concert, so it will only have Featured Artists from the festival. The Friday and Saturday evening concerts will be a mix of Attendee Artists and Featured Artists, in which we will try our best to program performance time for everyone that wishes to share! We will program these based on piece information you give us in a “Get-to-know-you” questionnaire sent to you after you register for the festival.

If we have too many amazing Attendee Artists to showcase, not everyone will be able to share during an evening performance in an effort to program concerts that aren’t hours and hours long. However, we do promise everyone will get a chance to perform and share with their Mallet + Voice cohort, whether it is during an evening concert or during a daytime session!