Dear friends and colleagues,
I’m writing to inform you of an upcoming concert that will be not only musically rewarding, but is of great importance to the future of symphonic music in our culture. We the Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony have settled our relatively brief dispute with management, and are happily back on stage at Davies Symphony Hall, making great music for our beloved Bay Area audiences. The Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra are not so fortunate. Their rogue administration, who recently spent 90 million dollars on a lobby renovation, offered the musicians a 40% pay cut, take it or leave it. These world class musicians have been locked out for over six months, with no end in sight. The Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony will be performing a Solidarity Concert on April 29th. This event will be broadcast live throughout the world via streaming video. All of the proceeds from our ticket sales will go directly to the Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra, and to the Musicians of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, who are in a similar situation.
We have rented the magnificent sanctuary of Saint Ignatius Church, on the campus of the University of San Francisco, which seats 2,000. We need to play for a full house! We are producing and publicizing the event ourselves. Please consider purchasing a ticket, and spreading the word to every music lover you know. Your presence will be a vote for the continued health of the greatest art known to humanity.
Tickets are available from brownpapertickets.com, and are $25. $15 for seniors and students. (Children under 10 are admitted free!)
When: Monday April 29, 2013. at 7 PM
Where: St. Ignatius Church, 650 Parker Ave., SF 94118
Who: The Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony
musiciansofthesanfranciscosymphony.orgProgram:
Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man, featuring the SFS brass and percussion
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, for strings and harpsichord
Holst: St. Paul’s Suite, for strings
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5I will have the privilege of conducting the Tchaikovsky. We would love to see you there.
Cordially,
Steve Paulson
I was asked if I would post this … and why not?! Maybe a reader or two (or more) will be able to attend! Unfortunately I have a conflict with the dates near my neck ‘o the woods.
THE CITY OF TOMORROW
OLD FIRST CHURCH, SF
MARCH 15, 2013
“Retro-Futurist” American wind quintet THE CITY OF TOMORROW performs their San Francisco debut recital at Old First Church, 1751 Sacramento Street, on Friday March 15, 8pm. Tickets are $17.00 General; $14.00 Seniors (65 and older); $14.00 Full Time Students.
Children 12 and under are free. www.oldfirstconcerts.org
The only wind quintet to win a gold medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in ten years, THE CITY OF TOMORROW advocates for the quality and expansion of wind quintet repertoire and performance. Members are: Elise Blatchford, flute; Andrew Nogal, oboe; Camila Barrientos, clarinet; Laura Miller, bassoon; and Leander Star, horn. Visit www.thecityoftomorrow.org and www.soundcloud.com/the-city-of-tomorrow to read more and for audio and video.
Repertoire (see below for more detailed information) includes:
· Rob Keeley, Wind Quintet (US Premiere, recently World Premiered by COT)
· Luciano Berio, Ricorrenze
· Darius Milhaud, La Cheminée du Roi René
· Magnus Lindberg, Arabesques
In addition to the above performances, COT has been engaged for Bay Area school/outreach engagements at Sheldon High School (Sacramento, CA) and Aragon High School (San Mateo, CA).
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The City of Tomorrow, based in New York, Chicago, Portland, and San Antonio, aspires to be a leading international ensemble dedicated to the performance and creation of new music for winds.
Since their Fischoff win in May 2011, the quintet has toured the United States Midwest twice and will tour the US West Coast in spring 2013. Performance highlights include the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series in Chicago, the Mayo Clinic, the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, and the Ashland (WI) Chamber Music Society on the scenic shore of Lake Superior. They collaborated with the Portland Cello Project for two performances of Radiohead’s classic album OK Computer in Oregon last September.
Most recently, in Canada, the City of Tomorrow performed on the New Music Edmonton series, preceded by a three-week residency at the Banff Centre. In Banff, they performed and recorded as the wind section of Gruppo Montebello, a new-music chamber orchestra. The ensemble’s members studied at the Manhattan School of Music, Northwestern University, Oberlin College, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the University of Texas.
FULL REPERTOIRE INFORMATION
Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) : La cheminée du roi René (1939) 13’
La cheminée du roi René (The Fireplace of King René), the first modern classic for wind quintet, was composed at the height of Milhaud’s prolific career. In a language of 20th-century tonality that freely mixes major and minor keys, Milhaud conjures the spirit of Medieval France and the court of King René I. Depicting legendary tournaments and ceremonies in its seven movements, the suite is an adaptation of music Milhaud originally wrote for a film: Cavalcade d’amour by Raymond Bernard.
Milhaud taught at Mills College for almost 30 years, and his students went on to huge musical careers in many different genres; Dave Brubeck and Burt Bacharach are counted among his most famous pupils.
Luciano Berio (1925-2003): Ricorrenze (1985-87) 16’
Berio’s mischievous Ricorrenze (Occurrences) is an episodic set of jittery, stuttering variations on haunting, simple melodies: the nervous hitch in your throat when you see a pretty boy or girl and forget how to speak.
Italian composer Luciano Berio may be viewed as the 20th century’s Franz Liszt: a master of writing virtuosic, immaculately colorful music in a unique harmonic language, and an influential teacher.
Rob Keeley (b. 1960): Wind Quintet (2003/2011) 10’
In this four-movement score, Rob Keeley elegantly draws upon 20th-century musical innovations – the birdcalls of Messiaen, the stark and sensual harmony of Stravinsky, the folksong derivations of Bartók – to create constantly shifting scenery that overflows with character and rhythmic vitality. The City of Tomorrow was honored to give this work its world premiere in December 2012.
Rob Keeley has taught composition at King’s College, London, since 1993. As a pianist, he has performed with the London Sinfonietta and Music Projects/London, and now gives frequent solo recitals that explore his far-reaching taste in repertoire.
Magnus Lindberg (b. 1958): Arabesques (1978) 13’
In Arabesques, Lindberg juxtaposes the rigidity of electronic music with the fluidity of ballet. Inspired by the tactile energy of Berio’s music, Lindberg lays tender solo melodies atop a mechanized, sometimes noisy groundwork. In the repetition of palindromic patterns, Lindberg captures the symmetry of an arabesque, the sense that something earthbound is defying gravity.
Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg was the New York Philharmonic’s composer-in-residence from 2009-2012. He counts firsthand experience of 1980’s punk rock in Berlin among the most important highlights of his musical education.
OTHER CALIFORNIA DATES:
3/12 – 7:30 pm Master Class at San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Osher Salon, 50 Oak Street, San Francisco, CA
Event is free and open to the public. www.sfcm.edu
3/13 – 7:30 pm Gillingham Concerto for wind quintet and wind ensemble with UC Davis Concert Band
Mondavi Center, One Shields Avenuxse, Davis, CA
Tickets $12 for adults, $8 for children. UC Davis free. www.mondaviarts.org
OREGON DATES:
3/20 – 7:30 pm Recital at the Alberta Rose Theater, Portland, OR
3/23 – 7:30 pm Collaborative recital with Northwest New Music at the Community Music Center, Portland, OR
I was asked if I would post this … and why not?! Maybe a reader or two (or more) will be able to attend! Unfortunately I have a conflict with the dates near my neck ‘o the woods.
THE CITY OF TOMORROW
OLD FIRST CHURCH, SF
MARCH 15, 2013
“Retro-Futurist” American wind quintet THE CITY OF TOMORROW performs their San Francisco debut recital at Old First Church, 1751 Sacramento Street, on Friday March 15, 8pm. Tickets are $17.00 General; $14.00 Seniors (65 and older); $14.00 Full Time Students.
Children 12 and under are free. www.oldfirstconcerts.org
The only wind quintet to win a gold medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in ten years, THE CITY OF TOMORROW advocates for the quality and expansion of wind quintet repertoire and performance. Members are: Elise Blatchford, flute; Andrew Nogal, oboe; Camila Barrientos, clarinet; Laura Miller, bassoon; and Leander Star, horn. Visit www.thecityoftomorrow.org and www.soundcloud.com/the-city-of-tomorrow to read more and for audio and video.
Repertoire (see below for more detailed information) includes:
· Rob Keeley, Wind Quintet (US Premiere, recently World Premiered by COT)
· Luciano Berio, Ricorrenze
· Darius Milhaud, La Cheminée du Roi René
· Magnus Lindberg, Arabesques
In addition to the above performances, COT has been engaged for Bay Area school/outreach engagements at Sheldon High School (Sacramento, CA) and Aragon High School (San Mateo, CA).
—-
The City of Tomorrow, based in New York, Chicago, Portland, and San Antonio, aspires to be a leading international ensemble dedicated to the performance and creation of new music for winds.
Since their Fischoff win in May 2011, the quintet has toured the United States Midwest twice and will tour the US West Coast in spring 2013. Performance highlights include the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series in Chicago, the Mayo Clinic, the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, and the Ashland (WI) Chamber Music Society on the scenic shore of Lake Superior. They collaborated with the Portland Cello Project for two performances of Radiohead’s classic album OK Computer in Oregon last September.
Most recently, in Canada, the City of Tomorrow performed on the New Music Edmonton series, preceded by a three-week residency at the Banff Centre. In Banff, they performed and recorded as the wind section of Gruppo Montebello, a new-music chamber orchestra. The ensemble’s members studied at the Manhattan School of Music, Northwestern University, Oberlin College, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the University of Texas.
FULL REPERTOIRE INFORMATION
Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) : La cheminée du roi René (1939) 13’
La cheminée du roi René (The Fireplace of King René), the first modern classic for wind quintet, was composed at the height of Milhaud’s prolific career. In a language of 20th-century tonality that freely mixes major and minor keys, Milhaud conjures the spirit of Medieval France and the court of King René I. Depicting legendary tournaments and ceremonies in its seven movements, the suite is an adaptation of music Milhaud originally wrote for a film: Cavalcade d’amour by Raymond Bernard.
Milhaud taught at Mills College for almost 30 years, and his students went on to huge musical careers in many different genres; Dave Brubeck and Burt Bacharach are counted among his most famous pupils.
Luciano Berio (1925-2003): Ricorrenze (1985-87) 16’
Berio’s mischievous Ricorrenze (Occurrences) is an episodic set of jittery, stuttering variations on haunting, simple melodies: the nervous hitch in your throat when you see a pretty boy or girl and forget how to speak.
Italian composer Luciano Berio may be viewed as the 20th century’s Franz Liszt: a master of writing virtuosic, immaculately colorful music in a unique harmonic language, and an influential teacher.
Rob Keeley (b. 1960): Wind Quintet (2003/2011) 10’
In this four-movement score, Rob Keeley elegantly draws upon 20th-century musical innovations – the birdcalls of Messiaen, the stark and sensual harmony of Stravinsky, the folksong derivations of Bartók – to create constantly shifting scenery that overflows with character and rhythmic vitality. The City of Tomorrow was honored to give this work its world premiere in December 2012.
Rob Keeley has taught composition at King’s College, London, since 1993. As a pianist, he has performed with the London Sinfonietta and Music Projects/London, and now gives frequent solo recitals that explore his far-reaching taste in repertoire.
Magnus Lindberg (b. 1958): Arabesques (1978) 13’
In Arabesques, Lindberg juxtaposes the rigidity of electronic music with the fluidity of ballet. Inspired by the tactile energy of Berio’s music, Lindberg lays tender solo melodies atop a mechanized, sometimes noisy groundwork. In the repetition of palindromic patterns, Lindberg captures the symmetry of an arabesque, the sense that something earthbound is defying gravity.
Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg was the New York Philharmonic’s composer-in-residence from 2009-2012. He counts firsthand experience of 1980’s punk rock in Berlin among the most important highlights of his musical education.
OTHER CALIFORNIA DATES:
3/12 – 7:30 pm Master Class at San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Osher Salon, 50 Oak Street, San Francisco, CA
Event is free and open to the public. www.sfcm.edu
3/13 – 7:30 pm Gillingham Concerto for wind quintet and wind ensemble with UC Davis Concert Band
Mondavi Center, One Shields Avenuxse, Davis, CA
Tickets $12 for adults, $8 for children. UC Davis free. www.mondaviarts.org
OREGON DATES:
3/20 – 7:30 pm Recital at the Alberta Rose Theater, Portland, OR
3/23 – 7:30 pm Collaborative recital with Northwest New Music at the Community Music Center, Portland, OR
French conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier leads the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) February 21st through the 23rd at Davies Symphony Hall, in a program featuring SFS Principal Oboe William Bennett in Strauss’s Oboe Concerto. The program also includes Debussy’s Petite Suite and the Orchestra’s first performances of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 1.
Yesterday and today has me in two pits. First it’s the California Theatre, where we have started our Opera San José Die Fledermaus rehearsals. The opera opens a week from tomorrow. There is a lot of fun and frolic in that light opera! Then in the evening it’s the San Jose Center for Performing Arts, where we are rehearsing for the Ballet San Jose Gala tomorrow night. There we have quite the variety of music, which even includes a bit of Nutcracker. Hmm. Seems wrong somehow, doesn’t it?! But it’s for a good reason: they are giving a taste of the entire year of programs, so there’s a bit of everything for people to see and hear.
I’m just so thankful to be back in that second pit. I’m grateful that the ballet is including live music in every performance. So many companies have struggled and are having to resort to taped music. Live music really is best! Honest.
Here … have a bit of Fledermaus for now:
There’s nothing quite like a glimpse into the abyss to reorder one’s priorities. After this past winter’s turmoil seemed to threaten Ballet San Jose’s status as one of California’s premiere dance companies, the organization has recommitted to fundamentals.
In its latest dramatic gesture, the ballet hired Emmy award-winning music director and conductor George Daugherty, while announcing that every performance this season will feature live music by Symphony Silicon Valley.
So glad to see that we are back in the pit for Ballet San Jose, and so glad Ballet San Jose is still dancing! :-)
October 28-Encores
7:00 pm
Le Petit Trianon
72 N. 5th St.
San Jose
Join us for the concert you chose. Hear some of the winners of last season’s contest. Come back January 6 for the remaining winner. Please join us for a special President’s Reception in the courtyard following the Encores concert. This perfect ending to our concerts gives you an opportunity to meet the artists, as well as enjoy a bit of refreshment.
Tango Barocco & Trinitas were tied for first place in our Encores Contest held in January 2012. Saints was tied for second place.
Program Details:
Dragon Year Fanfare by Phil Young
Soloist: Yong-Ping Tian, erhu
Trinitas I by Anica Galindo
Excerpts from Saints by Craig Bohmler
Soloist: Layna Chianakas, mezzo-soprano
The Wind Amongst the Trees by John Lemmone (new orchestration by Mark Starr)
Soloist: Isabelle Chapuis, flute
Tango Barroco by Michael Touchi
Soloists: Patricia Mitchell, English horn; Dale Wolford, soprano saxophone
Adios, Nonino by Astor Piazzolla arr. Pablo Furman
Dear friends, I will be performing October 28 with the San José Chamber Orchestra on their gala season opening featuring works selected by audience vote to be “encored” and works that are favorite encores. On this exciting and engaging program I will be a featured soloist on TANGO BARROCO by Michael Touchi and on Astor Piazzolla’s famous tango ADIOS NONINO. There is a wonderful reception after the concert for EVERYONE!
I really hope that you will be able to join us.
Tickets can be purchased at
www.sjcotickets.org
or by calling 408 295-4416There is a special $10 ticket price for ages 22 and under.
Sunday October 28, 7 pm
Le Petit Trianon
72 N 5th Street in downtown San José
Free parking directly across the street from the theatre.
Bring your picnic basket, kids and grandkids to Symphony Silicon Valley’s Target Summer Pops festival — five free lawn concerts at San Jose State University, Saturday through Aug. 5.
July 27 at 7 p.m. the orchestra performs Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” and Mozart’s “A Little Night Music,” among other classics. July 28 at 5:30, it’s “Tubby the Tuba” time; a family concert, at 5:30 p.m. On Aug. 3, legendary jazz clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera performs with his quintet.
Broadway chanteuse Christine Andreas leads a Great American Songbook program on Aug. 4, and the series ends Aug. 5 with a night of orchestral works by Gershwin, Copland and Artie Shaw.
The July 29 and Aug. 5 concerts double as ice cream socials. www.symphonysiliconvalley.org.
… has concerts this weekend and it’s my final set of the year. We do have another set scheduled, but it conflicts with Mary Poppins and I will be involved in that so I had to cancel out of the true final set.
Gregory Vajda is returning to conduct Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra and Brahms Symphony #2. I’ll be playing English horn and third oboe in the Bartok. I do love that work!
Saturday 8:00pm May 12, 2012
Sunday 2:30pm May 13, 2012
You can read about our concerts here.
I do apologize — I forgot to post this back in April so some concerts have already happened, but you can still catch a whole lot more!
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCES FREE ONLINE CONCERT STREAMING OF BSO, BOSTON POPS, AND TANGLEWOOD PROGRAMS AT BSO.ORG/MEDIACENTER, BEGINNING WITH FINAL THREE BSO PROGRAMS OF 2011-12 SEASON
BSO LAUNCHES NEW STREAMING PLATFORM TOMORROW, TUESDAY, APRIL 24, WITH PROGRAM OF BEETHOVEN’S SYMPHONY NO. 1 AND MENDELSSOHN’S INCIDENTAL MUSIC TO A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, FEATURING VOCALISTS LAYLA CLAIRE AND KATE LINDSEY, WITH CLAIRE BLOOM AS NARRATOR, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF BERNARD HAITINK
Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 24, the Boston Symphony Orchestra will begin offering free online streaming of current BSO, Boston Pops, and Tanglewood concerts on the orchestra’s website at www.bso.org/mediacenter. In partnership with 99.5 Classical New England, a service of WGBH, the 128 kbps streams will be provided by WGBH’s live concert broadcasts and made available through the BSO Media Center the Monday or Tuesday after the program’s premiere at Symphony Hall (details about Tanglewood concert streaming will be announced at a later date). These concert streams will be available on bso.org/mediacenter for up to a year after the original performance, surpassing the usual industry standard of just a few weeks.
…
Available Week of April 29: Maestro Haitink leads the BSO in Debussy’s Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat, K.482, with soloist Till Fellner in his BSO debut, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, Pastoral. (April 26-28 program)
Available Week of May 6: Maestro Haitink leads the BSO in the final program of the orchestra’s 2011-12 season, featuring Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with soloists Jessica Rivera, Meredith Arwady, Roberto Saccá, and Günther Groissböck, with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. (May 3-5 program)
Sydne-Mychal Sullivan, oboe
The acclaimed principal oboist in the conservatory orchestra says she was named after professional basketball player Mychal Thompson because her mother — who grew up in Arkansas, where people go by their first and middle names — likes boys’ names for girls and unusual spellings.
Her recital includes Strauss’ Oboe Concerto, accompanied by the conservatory chamber orchestra, directed by San Francisco Symphony principal bassoonist Stephen Paulson. The concert also features pianist Xiyan Wang and bassoonist Kris King. [8 p.m. April 29]
Read here.
Gee, I have opera that day, but I just might be able to get up there for an evening recital. Time will tell! I played in an orchestra with bassoonist Kris King when we did The Gift of the Magi back in December, and I’ve read Ms. Sullivan’s blog. I’ve known Steve Paulson for … gee … I can’t even remember how long, and my brother studied bassoon with him many years ago.
… he’ll conduct while sitting down as they did in Bach’s time (1685-1750). Jaffe’s done it before.
“It’s more akin to a rhythm guitar with a chamber-music feel,” said Jaffe. “Like 18th-century jazz. It’s exhausting. But it’s really all about Tom playing oboe.”
Nugent, adjusting mentally to being in the spotlight, can relate. He calls his solo a “marathon.”
The University of the Pacific lecturer, who’s been a symphony member for six years, will hear Avner’s creation for the first time tonight. He’s been preoccupied preparing for his initial solo spot with the orchestra: during Johann Sebastian Bach’s Oboe Concerto in F major.
“It’s a very, very tiring piece to play,” Nugent, 53, said of the 22-minute concerto he’s performing for the first time. “It’s a tremendously demanding work. It’s like running a marathon. I’m really looking forward to it.”
The concert is tonight and Saturday night. Unfortunately I can’t attend. Perhaps some of you can, though. I haven’t seen Tom in eons, and I would have loved to hear him play this!
I received an email about a free concert. I’m sorry to miss it, but I’ll be out of town. Perhaps some of you would be interested, though. Please let me know if you attend … I’d love to hear all about it!
MOZART YOUTH CAMERATA
FREE CONCERTMar 11, 2012
4:30 PM – 6:30 PMWorks by Brahms, Andriasox and Mozart
Pre-concert surprises at 4:30!
Berkeley City Club
2315 Durant Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
To sign up for a ticket or two go here.
Winds of France
February 12, 2012
4:00 p.m., The Center for Performing Arts at Menlo-Atherton
Tickets: $50/$45 adult; $25/$20 studentIn the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, France became the compositional epicenter of chamber music written for wind instruments. The timbrally colorful combination of the instruments proved irresistible for many of France’s most compelling musical voices. Join these virtuosic wind players from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as they explore this ravishing, and rarely heard, repertoire.
Maurice Emmanuel (1862–1938)
Sonata for Flute, Clarinet, and Piano, op. 11 (1907)Yan Maresz (b. 1966)
Circumambulation for Flute (1993, rev. 1996)Jean Françaix (1912–1997)
Wind Quintet (1948)Jacques Ibert (1890–1962)
Trois pièces brèves for Wind Quintet (1930)Francis Poulenc (1899–1963)
Sextet for Piano, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn (1932–1939)Artists Alessio Bax, piano; Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Stephen Taylor, oboe; David Shifrin, clarinet; Peter Kolkay, bassoon; William Purvis, horn
Here is the link that takes you to the site and the place to order tickets.
Winds of France from Music@Menlo on Vimeo.
