Choices for May 21, 2021

The third weekend of this month is turning out to be busier than initially supposed. After running an article about May 23 on Monday, I already had to add an item on Tuesday. Now, not only is there another option for that Sunday but also options have emerged for Friday evening, May 21. Specifics for those options are as follows:

6 p.m.: One Found Sound will conclude the spring portion of its eighth season. Readers may recall that the overall theme of these concerts has been Water Music, and the title of the final program will be RIVER. The program will feature two of the movements from the music that Duke Ellington composed for Alvin Ailey’s dance, The River, “Lake” and “Giggling Rapids.” Fire dancers Julia Jerome and Benjamin Reynolds have created new choreography, which they will perform during these selections. In addition, Lynn Huang has also created new choreography, which will be performed as part of the opening selection, the overture to the eighteenth-century comic opera L’Amant anonyme (the anonymous lover), composed by the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Finally, Max Savage will present his latest Noisy Savage videos with audio provided by Scott Padden. Admission to the streaming of this concert will be through donation-based registration, which will be enabled through an Eventbrite event page. Donors with Onesie status will receive the benefits of a Virtual All Access Pass.

7:30 p.m.: Once again Chamber Music Society of San Francisco (CMSSF), the string quartet of violinists Jory Fankuchen and Natasha Makhijani, violist Clio Tilton, and cellist Samsun van Loon, will feature a guest artist. This time their invited performer will be violinist Kay Stern, Concertmaster of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. She will serve as soloist in a performance of the “Summer” and “Winter” concertos from The Four Seasons, the first four compositions in Antonio Vivaldi’s Opus 8, Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (the contest between harmony and Invention). She will also perform the solo line in the “Méditation” entr’acte from Jules Massenet’s opera Thaïs. Between these two selections, CMSSF will play the opening movement (Allegro molto moderato) of Franz Schubert’s final string quartet, D. 887 in G major.

Admission to this concert is also enabled through an Eventbrite event page. General admission is $25, but there is a $10 rate for those with limited financial resources. There is also a $50 Supporter rate, which will assist CMSSF in planning and presenting future concerts. Finally, this program will be given a second performance on Sunday, May 23, at 6 p.m., which has a separate Eventbrite event page for purchasing tickets.