Anyone who is held with such high-esteem deserves a concert in his honor.

And that is exactly what SF State's Provost John Gemello received.

The concert for the retiring provost was held Wednesday afternoon in Knuth Hall at the College of Creative Arts building. The packed auditorium was filled with students, faculties and members of the San Francisco community.

The university's president, Robert A. Corrigan, and the Dean of the Creative Arts, Kurt Daw, were one of many attendees of the show.

"John is the best chief academic officer in the history of this campus," said Corrigan of Gemello's work for the university.

Gemello has been the provost for the past six years and will retire at the end of this semester.

At the beginning of the show, Daw described him as "somebody we love" and "a great champion of music and dance."

The chairman of the School of Music and Dance at SF State, Jassen Todorov, coordinated this special concert as a gratitude for the support that Gemello gave to the department.

"He's very supportive in attending many concerts in the pasts, especially mine," said Todorov who also played the violin during the performance.

The concert included performances by pianist, saxophonist, and other violinists.

During the show, Todorov, presented Gemello with an iPod Nano, a gift from the department, which was filled with recorded performances in the past, including today's performance.

He told Gemello that when he is sitting on a beach next year, with a margarita drink, he will be able to listen to the music and " you will remember us and love us forever."

Gemello described the performance as "fabulous" and "a tremendous honor."

"I'm delighted and quite thrilled," said Gemello who brought his wife and son. "Glad to see so many students come."

After the show, performers and attendees were treated to a light reception across the auditorium.

Although this was a special concert in tribute to Gemello, Todorov said that they have these free concerts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Students, faculty and world-renowned musicians come to the auditorium every week to perform.