Choices for December 4 and 5, 2021

Thanks to streaming technology, the last “busy weekend” article I wrote was filed almost exactly one year ago in the midst of pandemic conditions. However, over the last few months, venues have begun to return to admitting audiences to their respective venues. On the basis personal experience, I would say that the return is still a gradual one. When one looks at the latest COVID numbers, there is at least a threat of backsliding; but, for the most part, the venues themselves have been conscientious about taking the necessary precautions. As a result, here is an enumeration (at least a tentative one) of events taking place during the first weekend of next month:

Saturday, December 4, 7:30 p.m., Noe Valley Ministry: Friction Quartet will begin its concert season by performing the results of five commissions that were awarded through its second Commissioning Initiative. The recipients of those commissions were Sofia Belimova, Carolina Bragg, Theodore Haber, Kari Watson, and Benjamin Champion. Specifics about the results, including the titles, have not yet been released. However, the program will also include a “bonus premiere” of “it was never okay,” a new quartet composed by Isaac Schankler.

The Noe Valley Ministry is located at 1021 Sanchez Street, between 23rd Street and Elizabeth Street. This is a short walk from the Muni stops at the corner of 24th Street and Church Street. Friction Quartet has created its own Web page for purchasing tickets. General admission will be $20 with a $1.45 sales tax, and the student rate will be $10 with a $0.72 sales tax. All of the quartet members are fully vaccinated, and proof of vaccinations and masks will be required at admission for the safety of all attendees.

Saturday, December 4, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, December 5, 4 p.m., Calvary Presbyterian Church: Once again, the San Francisco Bach Choir and Director Magen Solomon will present a “Candlelight” program for the annual Christmas concert. The title of this one will be A Candlelight Christmas in Nature. The natural wonders of the season will be explored by both circling the globe and traveling in time to different past eras. As in the past, instrumental support will be provided by the Renaissance wind band The Whole Noyse and pianist Steven Bailey.

Calvary Presbyterian Church is located at 2515 Fillmore Street on the northwest corner of Jackson Street. Ticket prices will be $35 for general admission and $30 for seniors age 62 or older. In addition there is a $10 rate for patrons under 30 and students with valid identification. However, due to pandemic conditions, children under the age of twelve will not be admitted. All levels of tickets for all performances can be purchased through a single Web page. This will include an online video version, which will be made available around the beginning of the following week and will allow unlimited access through the end of the year. The price for this “virtual” experience will be $30. “Physical” audiences will be required to present proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 with valid identification upon arrival and to wear a face mask at all times while inside the performance venue. The size of each “physical” audience will be limited.

Sunday, December 5, 5 p.m., Noe Valley Ministry: This will be the second program in LIEDER ALIVE!’s 2021/22 Liederabend Series, which was announced this past June. Pianist Jeffrey LaDeur will accompany mezzo Kindra Scharich for his second LIEDER ALIVE! appearance of the season. The title of the program will be Love, Death, Wit & Wisdom; and the repertoire will draw upon the seventeenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. Indeed, there will be a bridge between the seventeenth and twentieth century, because the opening selection will be Benjamin Britten’s arrangement of Henry Purcell’s song “Music for a While.” The nineteenth century will be represented by Johannes Brahms’ final vocal composition, his Opus 121 song cycle entitled Vier ernste Gesänge (four serious songs). There will also be a performance of Maurice Ravel’s Histoires Naturelles cycle. Finally, the program will conclude with a selection of songs by three American composers: George Walker, Cecil Cohen, and Samuel Barber. Tickets for this Noe Valley Ministry concert are being sold through an Eventbrite Web page. General admission is $35 with a $75 rate for reserved VIP seating. Students, seniors, and working artists will be admitted for $20 with a $2.85 processing fee.

Sunday, December 5, and Monday, December 6, 7:30 p.m., San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), Barbro Osher Recital Hall: This will be a Latin Ensemble/Big Band performance by students in the Roots, Jazz, and American Music program. Individual pieces will be announced from the stage. In-person attendance will be limited to those with SFCM identification and invited guests. All others will be able to attend the concert through a livestream. The hyperlink for streaming is located on the event pages hyperlinked to the above two dates. In addition, those following SFCM offerings may be interested in two other performances taking place in December as follows:

• Tuesday, December 7, 7:30 p.m., Barbro Osher Recital Hall: This will be the third concert in the monthly Chamber Music Tuesday series. The Telegraph Quartet, the SFCM Quartet-in-Residence, will partner with alumna Bonnie Hampton to curate a program that will bring students together with faculty. The major work on the program will be Franz Schubert’s D. 956 string quintet in C major. The program will begin with selections from Florence Price’s Five Folksongs in Counterpoint (sound familiar?). Between these two selections will be a performance of Grażyna Bacewicz’s fourth string quartet. Completed in 1951, this quartet was awarded first prize at that year’s Concours international pour quatuor à cordes, held in Liège.
• Saturday, December 11, 7:30 p.m., Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall: The final SFCM Orchestra program of the year will be conducted by Earl Lee, currently Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Conducting student David Baker (class of ’23) will begin the program with Johannes Brahms’ Opus 80 “Academic Festival” overture. Lee with then take the podium for the remaining two selections. This will include Lowell Liebermann’s Opus 39 flute concerto with the solo part performed by Julia Pyke (class of ’21). The program will conclude with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Opus 64 (fifth) symphony in E minor. Note that the event page linked above will include a hyperlink for reserving tickets for seating in the Concert Hall as well as for a livestream.