CMC Announces First Concert with Conversation

Alfredo Rodríguez (photograph by Anna Webber, from the CMC Web page for this Concert with Conversation event)

Some readers may recall that Cuban pianist and composer Alfredo Rodríguez had been selected for the Concert with Conversation event at the Community Music Center (CMC) scheduled for the end of March in 2020. This series of events was made possible through a partnership with San Francisco Performances (SFP); and Rodríguez was one of two pianists to launch SFP’s 40th anniversary season in September of 2019. Sadly, much of that particular month of March was spent, on this site, by announcing event cancellations, one of which was that Concert with Conversation.

A year and a half later CMC has begun inviting audiences to events in the 2021–22 season. Next month Rodríguez’ Concert with Conversation will finally take place. There will be limited-capacity seating; so opportunities for in-person conversation will be more limited than in the past. However, the program will feature Rodríguez playing his original compositions, which have marked a stylistic shift in jazz currently coming out of Cuba. On the other hand this event will also be livestreamed, and such streaming platforms frequently provide a “real-time chat space” for viewers. Possibly, Rodríguez will be able to monitor activity if such a chat space is available.

As in the past, this will be a one-hour event. It will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 15. The venue will be the CMC Concert Hall, which is located at 544 Capp Street, between Mission Street and South Van Ness Avenue and between 20th Street and 21st Street.

There will be no charge for admission. However, registration through an Eventbrite event page will be required. Due to high interest and limited-capacity seating, CMC expects this event to reach capacity quickly. Anyone that cannot attend is asked to contact the Mission District Branch at 415-647-6015 or through electronic mail to info@sfcmc.org. This will allow release of the reservation to other patrons.

Seating will be first come, first served. The link for streaming has not yet been finalized. Once it has been determined, it will probably be added to the Web page for this event.