Saturday, August 31, 2019

Center for New Music: October, 2019

The October calendar for events scheduled at the Center for New Music (C4NM) seems to have been going through some flux. In the course of spot-checking to see when a “critical mass” of events has been scheduled, I encountered one that was dropped from the schedule. Since it involved a visitor from overseas, my guess is that the update was due to a change in travel plans. In any event there are now enough events to justify creating this article; and, as usual, I shall use my Facebook shadow site to put out the word of any updates to the schedule.

C4NM is located at 55 Taylor Street, half a block north of the Golden Gate Theater, which is where Golden Gate Avenue meets Market Street. All tickets may be purchased in advance through a Vendini event page. Hyperlinks to the appropriate Web pages will be attached to each of the dates in the following summary:

Thursday, October 3, 7:30 p.m.: This will be a duo performance by two jazz artists distinguished for proficient inventiveness in both compositions and improvisation. Brooklyn-based Fay Victor calls herself a “sound artist,” rather than a vocalist; and she will be joined by pianist Myra Melford from Berkeley. This program will be co-presented with The Poetry Center at San Francisco State University. It will be the first double-program in its Fall 2019 In Common Writers Series, supported by the Walter & Elise Haas Fund. There will be no charge for admission, but advance registration through the Vendini hyperlink is required.

[added 9/6. 1:30 p.m.:

Friday, October 4, 8 p.m.: This will be an evening of three improvised sets. Burton Greene will present a set of solo piano works and improvisations. He will be followed by the duo improvisations of gabby fluke-mogul on violin and Bruce Ackley on saxophones. In the final set all three will come together for a trio improvisation. The charge will be $15 for general admission and $10 for C4NM members and students.]

[added 9/3, 4:30 p.m.:

Saturday, October 5, 8 p.m.: Slow Wave is a new music trio based in San Francisco, whose members are Kyle Beard on clarinets, Justine Preston on viola, and Naomi Stine on piano. They will give premiere performances of compositions by Julie Barwick and Brett Austin Eastman. They will also present a recent piece by Israeli composer Aviya Kopelman. Their program will also include a work by twentieth-century composer Gordon Jacob. The charge will be $18 for general admission and $8 for C4NM members and students.]

Sunday, October 6, 7:30 p.m.: Glenda Bates will curate Site: Yizkor, an interactive work for sound and video developed jointly by interdisciplinary artist Maya Ciarrocchi, who will be visiting from the Bronx in New York, and composer Andrew Conklin, currently based in Stockton. “Yizkor” is the Hebrew word for “remembrance,” and it refers to prayers to be recited by those that have lost at least one parent. Yizkor services are held in conjunction with four major Jewish holidays. The source material for Site: Yizkor includes architectural renderings of demolished temples, maps of vanished Eastern European shtetls, field recordings of folk music, and memorial books comprised of prose remembrances. Conklin has created a new composition, which will be performed by violinist Alisa Rose, clarinetist Ben Goldberg, Lisa Mezzacappa on bass, and Jon Arkin on percussion and electronics. Conklin himself will play guitar and provide vocals. The charge will be $15 for general admission and $10 for C4NM members and students.

Thursday, October 10, 8 p.m.: Chris Brown will curate The Chromelodia Project, a program of music he has composed based on Harry Partch’s 43-tone just intonation gamut. The title refers to the Chromelodeon, a reed organ that Partch built with a keyboard based on his 43-tone scale. Brown will play keyboard and electronics. He will be joined by Theresa Wong (cello and vocals) and oboist Kyle Bruckmann. The project itself has been funded by InterMusic SF’s Musical Grant Program. The charge will be $15 for general admission and $10 for C4NM members and students.

Saturday, October 12, 8 p.m.: Saxophonist and composer Darius Jones will make a special Bay Area appearance at a fundraising benefit event for C4NM. His performance will be preceded by a reception at 7 p.m. hosted by the C4NM Board of Directors. Tickets will be sold only at the door. General admission will be $30, and C4NM members will be admitted for $20.

[added 9/6, 1:40 p.m.:

Wednesday, October 16, 8 p.m.: This will be a two set program. The opening set will be taken by a new trio of local performers, I Lo U, with Matt Ingalls on reeds, Scott Looney on piano and Hyperpiano DSP, and Ken Ueno on vocals, membranes, and devices. They will be followed by the Ensemble EKT trio visiting from Europe. Instrumentation consists of baritone saxophone, bass, and custom electroacoustic sound sculpture. The charge will be $15 for general admission and $10 for C4NM members and students.]

[added 9/3, 4:40 p.m.:

Thursday, October 17, 7:30 p.m.: Following a first-rate performance in the Old First Concerts (O1C) series, the Friction Quartet of violinists Otis Harriel and Kevin Rogers, violist Lucia Kobza, and cellist Doug Machiz will return to C4NM. They will revisit Piers Hellawell’s “Family Group with Aliens,” which was a high point in their O1C program. They will also play “October,” a new work by Michael Torke, Marc Mellits’ “Titan” and “Folkolours” by Sebastián Tozzola. The charge will be $15 for general admission and $10 for C4NM members and students.]

Monday, October 21, 7 p.m.: Joshua W Bruner will present a program entitled Brainwave Curious? The audience will explore different approaches to ambient listening techniques. Soundscapes will be based on both sonification of electroencephalographic (EEG) data and a variety of virtual instruments. The charge will be $15 for general admission and $10 for C4NM members and students.

[added 10/9, 11:20 a.m.:

Wednesday, October 23, 8 p.m.: David Michalak will present a screening of his full-length feature film Face of a Stranger. This film was first screened in 1977, but no words are spoken for the entire composition. Consequently, this screening will be a new experience, including a newly recorded score by Thollem McDonas specially created for the occasion. There will be a reception at 7:30 p.m., during which members of the audience will have the opportunity to examine prints based on frames from the film. At 8 p.m. the screening will be preceded by a short solo set by saxophonist Bruce Ackley. The charge will be $15 for general admission and $10 for C4NM members and students.]

Friday, October 25, 8 p.m.: Glenda Bates will also host a two-set program. The first set will be taken by the duo of Jesse Perlstein and Shinya Sugimoto involving vocals, field recordings, and both acoustic and electronic instruments. They will perform materials from their forthcoming album I Confess. They will be followed by Bates herself presenting OboeTronics, her ongoing performance project featuring recent works for oboe and tape. Featured composers will be Daria Semegen, Jacob ter Veldhuis, and Mazdak Khamda. The charge will be $15 for general admission and $10 for C4NM members and students.

[added 9/6, 1:50 p.m.:

Saturday, October 26, 7:30 p.m.: The Founder’s Series will present composer and laptop performer Neil Rolnick. He will be joined by pianist Kathleen Supové to present a new composition. The concert will also include the world premiere of “Journey's End,” written Supové. Finally, there will be West Coast premieres of “Mirages,” for piano and computer, and “Messages,” for solo laptop. The charge will be $15 for general admission and $10 for C4NM members and students.

Sunday, October 27, 3 p.m.: This two-set program will open with a solo electronic set by Kim Nucci. This will be followed by the Kinda Green duo of Tim Perkis and Tom Djll, combining electronics and trumpet. The charge will be $15 for general admission and $10 for C4NM members and students.]

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