Sunday, May 7, 2017

Coming up on a May Saturday Evening of Hard Choices

The season may be almost over, but there will be a confluence of events on Saturday, May 20, that is likely to impose some serious decision-making skills on those who have not yet committed to tickets. The timing is such that it will not be possible to attend any two of them in succession. Furthermore, in many cases the venue will be a small one; but making reservations in advance will be strongly advised. Here are the specifics for the evening’s alternatives:

7:30 p.m., Mission Dolores Basilica: This will be the second of the two concerts for this season’s Other Minds 22 festival of new music. The title of the festival is Just 100: Homage to Lou Harrison, and the concert will take place almost a week after Harrison’s birthday this coming May 14. The title of this second concert will be Lou Harrison Gamelan Masterpieces, focusing primarily on the influences of music from Java and Bali. The major work of the evening will be the cantata La Koro Sutro (the heart sutra).

Harrison composed this for the 1972 World Esperanto Convention, so the ancient Buddhist source texts were translated into Esperanto by Bruce N. Kennedy. The instrumentation required the American Gamelan constructed by Harrison’s life partner William Colvig (based on design suggestions from Harrison), along with organ, harp, and a large mixed chorus. At this performance the American Gamelan will be performed by the William Winant Percussion Group, the organist will be Jerome Lenk, and the harpist will be Meredith Clark. Two ensembles will contribute to the choral resources, the Mission Dolores Choir, for which Lenk is Music Director, and the Resound Ensemble, whose Artistic Director is Luçik Aprahämian.

Lenk will also perform two solo works, “Praises for Michael the Archangel,” which Harrison composed between 1946 and 1947, and the four-movement “Pedal Sonata,” completed in 1989. Clark will play Harrison’s 1990 “Threnody for Oliver Daniel” and will be joined by cellist Emil Miland for Harrison’s 1948 duo sonata. Finally, the American Gamelan will also join violinist Shalini Vijayan for a performance of the 1974 suite that Harrison composed with Richard Dee.

Mission Dolores Basilica is located at 3321 16th Street, on the southwest corner of Dolores Street. General admission will be $20 with a $12 rate for students. Both levels of tickets may be purchased in advance through a Brown Paper Tickets event page.

7:30 p.m., Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church: This will be the third joint production of a work by George Frideric Handel by Black Box Baroque working with the instrumentalists of The Albany Consort. The work will be Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, a three-act serenata composed in 1732, based on music composed in 1718 for the one-act masque “Acis and Galatea.” The program will also include chamber music for recorder, oboe, violin, gamba, and harpsichord.

Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church is located is located at 455 Fair Oaks Street. All tickets will be $30. Tickets may be purchased online in advance through a Brown Paper Tickets event page.

7:30 p.m., Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church: The next program in the Seventh Avenue Performances recital series will present a recital by the One Great City Duo of Alexandra Iranfar (guitar and soprano) and Timothy Sherren (guitar) in collaboration with the Guerrilla Composers Guild. The result of that collaboration will be world premiere performances of works by Nick Benavides, Emma Logan, and Michael Kropf. The program will also include Sergio Assad’s “Variations on a Lullaby,” which was given its world premiere by One Great City this past October. The program will conclude with Chick Corea’s “Children’s Songs” and “No Feathers on this Frog” by Dusan Bogdanovic.

The Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church is located at 1329 Seventh Avenue, about half a block south of the stop for the Muni N trolley line. General admission will be $15 with a $10 rate for students and seniors and $5 for children aged twelve and under. Tickets are available in advance online through a Brown Paper Tickets event page.

8:30 p.m., The Lab: Composer Kyle Bruckmann will make his debut as a bandleader with an ensemble called Degradient. He will supplement his usual performance on both oboe and English horn with electronics. The other members of the group will be Aram Shelton on alto saxophone, clarinet, and bass clarinet, Jason Hoopes on electric bass, and Jordan Glenn on percussion, joined by guest vocalists Danishta Rivero and Eugene S. Robinson. The program, entitled Dear Everyone, is likely to be the “bleeding edge” event of the evening, as well as a reminder that Anything Can Happen Day need no longer be restricted to Wednesdays.

The Lab is located in the Mission at 2948 16th Street. The venue is on the south side of the street, a short walk east of the corner of Mission Street. This location is particularly good for those using public transportation, since that corner provides bus stops for both north-south and east-west travel as well as a BART station. General admission will be $15, and members of The Lab will be admitted at no charge. Doors will open at 8 p.m.; and, because demand tends to be high, advance registration is highly recommended. Members can register through their login Web page, while others can use the guest registration Web page.

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