Old First Concerts: July, 2019

As of this writing, only four performances have been scheduled in the Old First Concerts (O1C) series during the month of July. However, while this may be short in numbers, the offerings will cover an impressively diverse assortment of genres. If necessary, updates to this article will be made online with notifications appearing on the shadow page for this site on Facebook.

All O1C events take place at the Old First Presbyterian Church, located at 1751 Sacramento Street on the southeast corner of Van Ness Avenue. If purchased in advance online from an O1C event page, general admission will be $23 with a discounted rate of $18 for seniors aged 65 or older. Hyperlinks for online purchase through specific event pages will be attached to the date-and-time information given below. Tickets for full-time students showing valid identification will be $5; and children aged twelve and under will be admitted for free. There is also a discount available for those parking at the Old First Parking Garage at 1725 Sacramento Street, just up the street from the church. Here are the specifics for the month of July:

Friday, July 12, 8 p.m.: Tenor saxophonist Tod Dickow will join forces with the Charged Particles trio to present a complete performance of John Coltrane’s four-part composition A Love Supreme. This piece filled an entire LP album with a recording by what is now referred to as the “Classic Quartet,” led by Coltrane on tenor. The Charged Particle trio will channel the remaining members of the original quartet, pianist McCoy Tyner (taken over by Murray Low), bassist Jimmy Garrison (now Aaron German), and drummer Elvin Jones (Jon Krosnick).

Sunday, July 14, 4 p.m.: If A Love Supreme emerged as a sign of where inventive jazz was beginning to head at the end of 1964, StringQuake is a contemporary trio with their own adventurous paths to improvisation. The name of the group refers to its combination of two significantly different member of the string family, cello (Misha Khalikulov) and harp (Amelia Romano). They are joined by percussionist Joshua Mellinger. They refuse to be confined to the narrow space of a single genre category; and their performances reflect the influences of traditional classical chamber music, jazz, Latin, classical Indian, West African folk and Balkan music.

Friday, July 26, 8 p.m.: While matriculating as a Master’s student at the San Francisco Conservatory, soprano Chelsea Hollow participated in the Hot Air Festival to perform C.S. Boyle’s “To One In Paradise.” Since that time she has not been shy about adventurous undertakings, which included the role of Elizabeth Frankenstein in the West Edge Opera’s West Coast premiere performance of Libby Larsen’s Frankenstein. The title of her O1C program will be Voice for the Voiceless: Women; and her program will include world premiere performances of compositions by Margaret Martin, Sophie Xuefei Zhang, and Niloufar Nourbankhsh. Zhang will also be her accompanist at the piano. Other composers on her program will be Jake Heggie, Ernest Bloch, Francis Poulenc, and Stacy Garrop; and she will conclude with a “cabaret” set presenting songs by Ma Rainey, Kurt Weill, and Edith Piaf.

Sunday, July 28, 4 p.m.: Pianist Allegra Chapman, who performed in last night’s O1C recital as a member of Ensemble Illume, will return to give a solo performance. She has organized her program around two works by Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz, whose “Overture” was performed by the San Francisco Symphony at the end of last month. Her program will also include compositions by Maria Szymanowska, Thomas Adès, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, and Agata Zubel.