PBO to Play First Herbst Concert Since Lockdown

Violinist Augusta McKay Lodge, new leader of the Philharmonia Baroque Chamber Players (courtesy of PBO)

Yesterday the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale (PBO) announced the first “live” performance to be presented since February of 2020. The concert will take place in Herbst Theatre, marking its first live performance since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancelations of all public performances, events, and gatherings at the San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center. (Just “for the record,” San Francisco Performances will begin its Summer Music Sessions concerts in Herbst in mid-July; and details will be forthcoming.) The concert will also mark the debut of Augusta McKay Lodge as leader of the Philharmonia Baroque Chamber Players.

The program will be framed by the music of George Frideric Handel, beginning with his HWV 325 concerto grosso in B-flat major, the seventh in his Opus 6 collection. The concluding selection will be the Chaconne from the HWV 8b opera-ballet Terpsicore. There will be two concertos by Antonio Vivaldi, the RV 157 concerto for strings in G minor and the RV 565 concerto in D minor for two violins and cello, the eleventh concerto in the Opus 3 L’estro Armonico (the harmonic inspiration). Vivaldi will also be represented by his RV 169 “Sinfonia al Santo Sepolcro,” a “Holy Sepulchre” sonata for two violins, viola, and continuo in B minor intended for performance during the Easter season. The other concerto selection will be the A minor concerto for four violins, the last of the seven concertos in the Opus 7 publication of Giuseppe Valentini. The program will also include Georg Philipp Telemann’s TWV 55:G2 orchestral suite, given the title La Bizarre.

The performance will begin at 8 p.m. on Friday, June 11, and last for approximately 75 minutes in duration. All tickets are being sold for $45. Seating will be reserved; and pods may be reserved for one, two, three, or four people. Tickets will only be sold to residents of California, and all members of a pod must be members of the purchaser’s household. All attendees must show proof of full vaccination or proof of a negative COVID PCR test within 72 hours of the performance. Masks must be worn at all times. The War Memorial has created a Web page with all necessary visitor information involving COVID-19. Tickets are being sold through a City Box Office event page.