NCCO to Host Zurich Chamber Orchestra

Those who have been following the career of Daniel Hope know that, in addition to serving as Artistic Partner of the New Century Chamber Orchestra (NCCO), he is also Music Director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. Next month the Zurich Chamber Orchestra will be touring the United States, and their tour will begin here in San Francisco. As a result Hope has organized this kick-off concert to be a joint performance of the two ensembles he is currently leading.

The visiting Zurich Chamber Orchestra (photograph by Sandro Diener, courtesy of NCCO)

The program will begin with NCCO playing one of the most popular pieces in its repertoire, Béla Bartók’s six-movement collection of Romanian folk dances. The Zurich Chamber Orchestra will then take the stage to present two compositions, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 138 divertimento in F major and Max Richter’s “recomposition” of “Summer,”  the second concerto from Antonio Vivaldi’s Opus 8 collection of twelve violin concertos, whose first four are best known collectively as The Four Seasons. Hope will perform as soloist in the Richter piece. The two ensembles will then join forces to play the orchestral version of Frå Holbergs tid, the piece usually called the “Holberg Suite.” Hope will serve as Concertmaster for the entire program.

This concert will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, March 16. The venue will be Herbst Theatre at 401 Van Ness Avenue on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Ticket prices will be those for all other NCCO concerts, $29, $49, and $61. Tickets may be purchased in advance through a City Box Office event page, which includes a seating plan showing which prices apply to which areas of the house.

The reason for the early start is that the concert will be followed by NCCO’s 2018 annual gala. This will begin at 7 p.m. in the Green Room on the second floor of the Veterans Building, the same site that houses Herbst Theatre on its first two floors. In honor of the special visitors, the title of the gala will be Soirée Suisse. Proceeds will benefit both education and artistic programs; and the evening will include an elegant sit-down dinner. Individual tickets are $500; and those attending the concert will be entitled to purchase premium tickets for only $50. It will also be possible to purchase Gala Tables of Ten for $5,000, $10,000, and $25,000. Those interested in attending the gala may make their purchases through Rebekah Rabiroff, Director of Development, who may be reached by calling 415-357-1111, extension 306. Rabiroff can also be reached by electronic mail.