Conductor Amusingly Improvises a Live Composition With an Orchestra Made Up of San Francisco Musicians

Lori Dorn
February 13, 2026

Talented multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier took over conducting duties from his mother, famed conductor Suzie Collier, to improvise a live composition with an orchestra comprised of local San Francisco musicians who heeded the call that was put out prior to the event. Jacob was quite encouraging and amusing when assigning musical roles to each part of the orchestra. Jacob then gave the audience different parts to sing, and it all came together beautifully.

A few months ago, I had the joy of performing with the world’s first Audience Symphony Orchestra in San Francisco, a gathering of fans from all over North America, conducted by Suzie Collier. In the middle of the show, this happened – no rehearsal, no sheet music, no prior discussion.

This event took place at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on October 27, 2025.

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via The Awesomer

Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.