LCCE Announces 2018–2019 Season

The 2018–2019 season of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble (LCCE) will run from October to June of next year. As was the case last season, there will be five programs, four of which will be held in the Recital Hall of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Also similar to last season, the remaining program will involve two performances of a pair chamber operas, which will be presented at Z Space. All SFCM concerts will be held on Mondays at 7:30 p.m., and the chamber opera program will be given both an evening and a matinee performance. As in the past, each concert will have its own thematic title. Details are as follows:

October 8, SFCM, Singing the Gamut: The “gamut” in this case is both the diversity of both human emotions and composers that have not received very much attention. Traditional composers of vocal music, such as Vincenzo Bellini and Alfred Bachelet, will share the program with Jon Deak’s double bass solo “Big Bad Wolf,” the celebratory fun of Mario Davidovsky’s “Festino,” and the tender emotions brought forth by Sheila Silver’s song cycle On Loving. The concert will also feature works by two up-and-coming composers, Charles Peck’s “Sunburst,” which won the LCCE 2018 Composition Contest, and the world premiere of a work not yet titled by Jonathan Favero, scored for guitar, viola, cello, and double bass.

November 18, SFCM, Volti + Left Coast Premieres: As was the case last season, the Volti chamber choir will again join forces with LCCE. There will be world premiere performances of two new works for vocal ensemble with chamber ensemble accompaniment, composed, respectively, by Laurie San Martin and Gregory Spears. There will also be a world premiere of a new work for oboes and strings written by Addie Camsuzou. Titles have not yet been announced for any of these two works. The program will begin with Benjamin Britten Opus 2 “Phantasy Quartet,” scored for oboe and strings.

January 14, SFCM, The Sound of Nature: The world premiere on this program will be Clarice Assad’s “The Lumerians,” scored for flute, two cellos, and percussion accompanied by an ensemble of cellos. Featured composers will include George Crumb, Evan Hause, and Kurt Rohde. By way of contrast, the program will begin with the “Sonata Representativa” in A major by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber.

March 4, SFCM, Bay Area Spotlight: This program will present world premieres of works by three local composers, Tina Tallon, Elainie Lillios, and Pater Van Zandt Lane, all of whom have composed works that explore the interplay between viola and electronics. The program will be framed by two sonatas, concluding with the sonata for clarinet and piano by local composer David Conte. The opening sonata will be the only piece by a composer no longer living, Rebecca Clarke’s sonata for viola and piano.

Saturday, June 1, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, June 2, 2 p.m., Z Space, Dorothea and Artemisia: This program will present the world premiere performances of two original chamber operas. Christopher Stark’s “From the Field” will explore the life and work of Dorothea Lange, who used her camera to spread the word about those hardest hit by the Great Depression. The second half of the program will present “Artemisia” by Laura Schwendinger, which examines the art and milieu of Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi.

Subscriptions for the full season are currently available for $125 for general admission and $105 for seniors. This amounts to a savings of up to $25 per ticket if tickets are purchased individually. There is open seating for all concerts. Tickets may be purchased online through the Subscriptions Web page on the LCCE Web site. Subscriptions are also available for $50 for students and those under the age of 35. These apply to currently enrolled high school and college students. Single tickets will be sold at the door for $35 for general admission and $18 for those under the age of 35. A separate Web page has been created with all of the necessary hyperlinks for purchasing individual tickets.