The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra accompanies the dancers of the San Francisco Ballet as well as those of prestigious visiting companies. The group also performs and records orchestral music not associated with dance. The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra's first appearance was in a production of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. The orchestra's music director since 2005 has been Martin West. The orchestra has accompanied the San Francisco Ballet in appearances outside San Francisco, including one at the opening ceremonies at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. In 1981, the orchestra made its recording debut with Paul Chihara's The Tempest. It has often been seen on Public Broadcasting System's Great Performances: Dance in America series. The orchestra appeared on composer Laura Karpman's Ask Your Mama album, which realized a cross-genre project proposed by poet Langston Hughes. In 2021, the orchestra released a recording of Lowell Liebermann's ballet Frankenstein.