Center for New Music: August, 2021

As of this writing, there will be three concerts this month presented by the Center for New Music (C4NM). Two of them, the first and the last, will be streamed via the C4NM YouTube channel. However, the second concert will be performed before an audience attending C4NM, which is located at 55 Taylor Street, half a block north of the Golden Gate Theater, which is where Golden Gate Avenue meets Market Street. All tickets and donations may be processed in advance through the C4NM Events page. Specifics are as follows with hyperlinks for the respective event pages:

Saturday, August 14, 8 p.m.: The first of the programs to be streamed is entitled Beyond Borders: Birds – Improvisations – Environments. This will be a concert of birds and musicians from Berlin, Sweden, Nova Scotia, Brazil, and the United States, coming together and apart, creating and performing music inspired by COVID and presented through Internet connectivity. The opening selection, “Birds Without Borders 3,” was composed by Wendy Reid to include an African grey parrot as one of the performers. The name of the performing parrot is Lulu, and she seems to have inspired Aurora Josephson to compose “Bird Song for Lulu.” This is a vocal composition which Josephson herself will perform, accompanied by William Winant on percussion. The program will conclude with a performance of Pauline Oliveros’ “Environmental Dialogue,” re-envisioned for current pandemic conditions. There will be no charge for admission, but donations are suggested and may be applied through the event page’s hyperlink for purchasing tickets.

Sunday, August 22, 7:30 p.m.: The “physical” performance will be given by the Splinter Reeds wind quintet:

from the About Web page on the Splinter Reeds Web site

The performers are, in the left-to-right order of the above photograph, Kyle Bruckmann (oboe), Dana Jessen (bassoon), David Wegehaupt (saxophone), Bill Kalinkos (clarinet), and Jeff Anderle (bass clarinet). This will be the first time that this ensemble has gathered in the same room since February of 2020. The title of the program will be, appropriately enough, Back in the Room. The quintet will present recent works by four composers: Chris Pitsiokos, Nilofar Nourbakhsh, Laura Cetilia, and Paula Matthusen. The charge will be $15 for general admission and $10 for C4NM members.

Saturday, August 28, 7 p.m.: This will be a jam session that will bring trumpeter Darren Johnston together with saxophonist Larry Ochs. They will perform with two sonorous electronics masters: Madalyn Merkey and Tim Perkis. General admission will be $10, purchased through the hyperlink on the event page. The URL for the performance will then be sent by electronic mail to all ticket holders.