Sunday, October 15, 2017

SFGC Begins 2017–2018 Season This Month


In ten days time the 2017–2018 season of the San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC) will get under way. That season will consist of four programs at different venues in San Francisco, along with a collaboration with Opera Parallèle for the three performances of their season-opening production of Rachel Portman’s two-act opera The Little Prince. Two of the programs have been designed to celebrate the 80th birthday of Philip Glass, which took place this past January 31; and the second of those programs will also be performed in Carnegie Hall. Since currently available information about The Little Prince has already been presented on this site, this article will focus on the content of the four remaining programs.

Wednesday, October 25, 7 p.m., Herbst Theatre: The title of the opening concert of the season will be Philip Glass and the Class of ’37; and guest artists will be members of the Philip Glass Ensemble (PGE), Music Director and keyboardist Michael Riesman and wind player (flutes and saxophones) Andrew Sterman. The program will include selections from three of Glass’ theater pieces, Einstein on the Beach, The Photographer, and Hydrogen Jukebox, as well as the “Vessels” section from his score for the film Koyaanisqatsi. The remainder of the program will be devoted to the “class of ’37,” other composers born in the 37th year of their respective centuries. These will be Dietrich Buxtehude (1637), Michael Haydn (1737), and Mily Balakirev (1837).

Monday, December 18, 7 p.m., Davies Symphony Hall: This will be SFGC’s annual contribution to the series of holiday-themed programs organized by the San Francisco Symphony. The program will include Christmas music from Mexico, Germany, and Ireland, seasonal music from India, Haiti, and Russia, Ladino songs, and the usual sing-along of traditional carols. The program will also include Gustav Holst’s setting of the Ave Maria prayer and Eric Banks’ cycle The Syrian Seasons.

Tuesday, February 20, 7:30 p.m., Davies Symphony Hall: SFGC will join forces with PGE for a performance of one of Glass’ earliest pioneering compositions, Music with Changing Parts, which will be presented in conjunction with the Hear Now and Then Series being offered this season by San Francisco Performances (SFP).

Sunday, April 22, 4 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts: The title of the program will be Strings Attached; and the strings will be provided by Colin Jacobsen, who will be playing both violin and ukulele. There will be a world premiere performance of the chamber version of Jacobsen’s “If I Were Not Me.” In addition Artistic Director Lisa Bielawa has programmed the “Opening: Forest” section from her television opera Vireo. Other composers on the program will include Theo Bleckmann, André Caplet, Gabriel Kahane, Carla Kihlstedt, Meredith Monk, and Aleksandra Vrebalov.

City Box Office has created a single event page for the sale of both subscriptions and single tickets. The subscription package covers all of the above dates except for the Music with Changing Parts concert, for which tickets will be handled by SFP. Single tickets range in price from $26 to $60 with a discounted rate of $18 for students. City Box Office computes the price of the subscription on the basis of seats selected for each of the three concerts in their respective venues. Those wishing further information may call 415-392-4400.

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