Overprotected?
• • • • • • • • • • November 2025 • • • • • • • • • •
The San Francisco Symphony is always short of money and always soliciting donations. Yet, somehow, they find that they can have 11 uniformed security guards on a Sunday afternoon, 8 in the lobby, and 3 at the Orchestra level entrance, for a concert that is only half full.
At the October 5th concert at Davies Symphony Hall, the presence of the guards, standing in formation, was unfriendly, if not intimidating. We attended the Opera on Sunday, September 21st. Entering through the north door, there were two security guards, and, for the first time, we had to walk through a screening device. I don’t know what security they may have had at the front entrance, but it was probably considerably more. At the Davies main entrance, we had to run a gauntlet of security guards; it was not a comfortable feeling. It was like having ICE at the Symphony Hall. Are we devolving into a security state where security personnel are present wherever you go?
What really galls me? Additional security measures are not needed. There has never been an incident at the Opera House or Symphony Hall that I have heard of or witnessed where security guards and screening devices would have made the least difference, and we have been patrons of both for decades.”
I wrote to Patron Services after the concert. Here’s what I said: “We’ve never needed this level of security before. In fact, we’ve never needed any security in the past. Why this unfortunate change? Has there been an incident involving weapons? Previously, the only concern Davies ever had was searching your bag for food. Has there been a specific threat? If not, the level of security we experienced Sunday is not needed. It is not money well spent to have that many security guards aside from the look of it, which is not a good look for the Symphony.”
They replied, in part, that, “Our new security procedures are staffed by a number of people each concert and while it may seem like a lot of staff to you, it is the number we have chosen to cover the volume of patrons entering the hall. The new security protocols in place at War Memorial Venues are an improvement and are needed for staff, patron, and performer safety.”
They declined to give any specific reason for the presence of the guards. They didn’t cite any past security incidents that might account for this heavy-handed security regimen. I have to respectfully question this decision. If you think 11 security guards are needed for a half-empty house on a Sunday afternoon, how many will you have for a Saturday night Gala Concert? How is this an “improvement?” Are they anticipating a gang of robbers at the Symphony?
I can't help but wonder if someone connected to the Symphony or Opera is benefiting financially from this added security.
What really galls me is not that someone might be making money from subjecting us to this, but that additional security measures are not needed. There has never been an incident at the Opera House or Symphony Hall that I have heard of or witnessed where security guards and screening devices would have made the least difference, and we have been patrons of both for decades. We are familiar with the performing arts scene, nationally and internationally. We subscribe to classical music, opera and ballet publications. I have never heard or read of a single incident anywhere. I remember several times at the Opera, years ago, someone set off the fire alarm during performances, but I’m sure that was an inside job.
You can understand screening devices at City Hall, people have been shot there, and tempers can run high in politics, but the Opera House and Symphony Hall? It is bad for a society to have too much security; it chills the atmosphere and leads to authoritarianism. I wonder if the same people who benefit from the security business invest as heavily in gun laws and non-violence education; somehow, I doubt it.
David Romano is an environmental activist living near Ocean Beach
November 2025
