Sunday, February 20, 2022

Sunset Music and Arts: April, 2022

Readers probably know by now that there has been a generous amount of variation in schedules for the current concert season. This site has done its best to keep up with those changes. However, the word does not always come through in time for it to be distributed to others. Nevertheless, since yesterday provided a “save the date” article about events at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in April, it seems appropriate to give the same consideration to Sunset Music and Arts, which often takes adventurous and innovative approaches to concert programming. With the usual subject-to-change-without-notice caveat, here are the current plans for dates, times, and performers in the coming month of April:

Sunday, April 3, 7 p.m.: Trio 180, which gave its last Sunset performance in March of 2019, will return. The members of this group are violinist Ann Miller, cellist Vicky Wang, and pianist Sonia Leong; and, as a group, they serve as the faculty piano-trio-in-residence at the University of the Pacific’s Conservatory of Music. During their last visit to Sunset, they performed Felix Mendelssohn’s Opus 66 trio in C minor. For their return they will play his earlier trio, Opus 49 in D minor. They will begin the program with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 121a, known as the “Kakadu Variations,” which was the last of the composer’s works for piano trio to be published. Between these two selections, Trio 180 will play Frank Martin’s three-movement trio based on themes taken from popular Irish tunes.

[added 3/27, 9:20 a.m.:

Friday, April 22, 7:30 p.m.: Two bandoneon players, Ramiro Boero and Heyni Solera, will be joined by pianist Sumi Lee to present a program entitled A Tango Concert; program details have not yet been finalized.]

[deleted 3/27, 9:25 a.m.:

Saturday, April 23, 7:30 p.m.: Joseph Kingma, currently Assistant Professor of Piano at Palm Beach Atlantic University, will present a solo piano recital. The second half of the program will be devoted entirely to Sergei Rachmaninoff. The original version of his Opus 36 (second) sonata in B-flat minor will be preceded by three of his Études-Tableaux (study pictures) compositions. Two will be taken from the Opus 33 set, the second in C major and the fifth in E-flat minor. The remaining selection will be the ninth (final) movement, in D major, from Opus 39. These twentieth-century selections will be preceded by music from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the first half of the program. Kingma will begin with Johann Sebastian Bach’s BWV 816, the fifth, in the key of G major, of his “French” suites. This will be followed by Beethoven’s Opus 57 (“Appassionata”) sonata in F minor.]

Friday, April 29, 7:30 p.m.: Two of the San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC) divisions will share a program for their visit to the Sunset. Program details have not yet been announced. However, the roughly 40 girls between the ages of nine and thirteen will represent the Chorus School Level III, which is directed by Terry Alvord. They will be accompanied at the piano by Katelyn Tan. The Soloist Intensive singers are at the high school level and are part of the SFGC Premiere Ensemble. They are directed by Justin Montigne, and their piano accompanist will be Taylor Chan.

Saturday, April 30, 7:30 p.m.: The month will conclude with a duo recital by Egyptian-born violinist Basma Edrees and Iranian-American pianist Ava Nazar. They have been performing as a duo ever since they met at The Juilliard School, where both of them were pursuing Masters degrees. They have prepared a program celebrating the legacy of Astor Piazzolla, performing both arrangements and music explicitly composed for violin and piano.

All performances will take place in the Sunset district at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, located at 1750 29th Avenue, about halfway between Moraga Street and Noriega Street. Ticket prices are $25 for general admission with a $20 rate for students and seniors. Because the demand tends to be high, advance purchase is highly advised. Tickets may be purchased online through Eventbrite. Each of the hyperlinks on the above dates leads to the event page for single ticket purchases. Further information may be obtained by calling 415-564-2324.

Finally, because we are still under pandemic conditions, all health and safety guidelines provided by the City and County of San Francisco must be honored. That means that a face covering is required for admission to all concerts, and it must be worn at all times. Face masks must completely cover the nose and mouth and have ear loops or similar to hold in place. Gaiters and bandanas are not acceptable.

In addition, proof of vaccination will be required for admittance. This may be provided with either a paper copy or a digital image. Sunset has created a Health and Safety Web page with a self-assessment based on ten easily answered questions. Those entering the building will implicitly acknowledge that they have answered “no” to all ten questions. Anyone that has answered “yes” to a question will be asked to return for another concert or offered a refund for paid tickets.

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