Friday, September 24, 2021

SFCM Highlights: November, 2021

There will be four highlighted concerts at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) during the month of November, one of which will be given two performances. Each event has its own unique genre, including the continuation of the Tuesday evening chamber music series. With one exception, which is the annual gala, each item will be identified by date, time, and venue, all of which will be hyperlinked to the appropriate Web page in the online Performance Calendar. All of the events, other than the gala, will be live-streamed through a link provided on that Web page; and it will also indicate whether or not ticketed attendance will also take place. Specifics are as follows:

Tuesday, November 9, 7:30 p.m., Barbro Osher Recital Hall, 200 Van Ness Avenue: The second installment of the new chamber music series in the new Conservatory building will be curated by SFCM alumna and violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti. The program will feature a version of Jessie Montgomery’s “Strum” scored for string quartet and bass. Montgomery held an online SFCM residency this past spring. The program will begin with Claude Debussy’s earliest chamber music composition, the L. 5 piano trio in G major. Debussy composed this piece in 1880, but it was not discovered until 1982 and had to wait another four years before publication. It is one of the reasons why the L numbers (named for musicologist François Lesure) had to be updated in 2001. The program will conclude with Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 18 string quintet in A major. In-person attendance will be limited to those with SFCM ID and invited guests.

Friday, November 12: The events of the annual gala will take place at both 50 Oak Street and the Bowes Center (which includes the Osher Recital Hall) at 200 Van Ness Avenue. The highlight will be a specially curated performance by cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Tickets went on sale this past Monday. Those interested in further details and wishing to attend can call 415-503-6210 or sent electronic mail to jpasek@sfcm.edu.

Monday, November 15, 7:30 p.m. Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall, 50 Oak Street: The New Music Ensemble will give its first performance of the season, led by its Director Nicole Paiement. However, the opening composition, Nico Muhly’s “Doublespeak” will be conducted by David Baker (class of ’23), who is currently studying with Edwin Outwater. Like Muhly, all of the other composers represented on the program were born during the second half of the twentieth century: Kate Whitley, Carla Lucero, Tyshawn Sorey, and Bryce Dessner. In-person attendance will be limited to those with SFCM ID and invited guests.

Tuesday, November 18, and Friday, November 19, 7:30 p.m., Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall, 50 Oak Street: The Fall Opera will be Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Staging will be by Heather Mathews, Chair of Opera and Musical Theatre. The conductor will be Curt Pajer, Musical and Managing Director of Opera. Casting has not yet been announced. In-person tickets may be reserved through the hyperlink on the Web page for the date of attendance. [added 10/31, 11:50 a.m.

Friday, November 19, 7:30 p.m., Barbro Osher Recital Hall, 200 Van Ness Avenue: Composer David Garner will present his Faculty Artist Series concert. The program will feature guest performances by pianist Dale Tsiang and the members of the Del Sol Quartet: Benjamin Kreith (violin), Samuel Weiser (violin), Charlton Lee (viola), and Kathryn Bates (cello). Tsang will begin the program with a performance of the three solo piano études that Garner composed in 1992: “Labyrinth,” “Traveling Light,” and “Dodecahedron.” The remainder of the program will be devoted to three world premieres. Tsang will play a set of four bagatelles, all based on themes from Garner's opera Mary Pleasant at Land’s End. She will then play Three Caprices in Memory of KP, composed as a memorial to pianist Kristin Pankonin. Finally, all of the performers will perform the four-movement piano quintet composed last year as a reflection on lockdown conditions.]

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