Old First Concerts: June, 2022

As of this writing, June is shaping up to be a busy month. So it is probably a good idea for readers to be aware of the plans for Old First Concerts (O1C) sooner, rather than later. The O1C schedule will not be as busy as it is for the current month. There will be only four recitals, two on Friday evenings and two on Sunday afternoons. All of the offerings will continue to be “hybrid,” allowing both live streaming and seating in the Old First Presbyterian Church at 1751 Sacramento Street on the southwest corner of Van Ness Avenue. However, the 100-ticket limit for seating will be lifted. All tickets will still be sold for $25 (no reduced rate for seniors or students). Hyperlinks to the event pages (which include hyperlinks for streaming) will be attached to the date and time of the performances as follows:

Friday, June 3, 8 p.m.: Dr. Anne K. Hege will lead Chorus School Level IV of the San Francisco Girls Chorus. This is the School’s most advanced ensemble, and Hege has prepared an impressively diverse program. Most importantly, she decided to frame the entire program with women composers, beginning with “The Moonbridge” by Florence Prince and concluding with Fanny Mendelssohn’s setting of Heinrich Heine’s poem “Wandl’ ich in dem Wald des Abends” (when in the twilit grove I wander).

Sunday, June 5, 4 p.m.: Jason Sia will present a solo piano recital. His program will also conclude with a female composer from the nineteenth century, Cécile Chaminade. His selection will be the second of her Opus 35 collection of six concert études, entitled “Automne” (autumn). The other nineteenth-century selection will be Robert Schumann’s Opus 14, his third “grand sonata,” composed in the key of F minor and given the subtitle “Concerto Without Orchestra.” The twentieth century will be represented by Claude Debussy’s “La plus que lente” (as slow as possible), a nocturne in D-flat major by Antonio Fragoso, and John Corigliano’s “Étude Fantasy.”

Friday, June 10, 8 p.m.: The Passionflower Duo consists of soprano Gabrielle Lochard and pianist Jonathan Liu. They have prepared a concert entitled In Bloom: A Pride Program consisting of selections appropriate for Pride Month. The program will present of a collection of songs by composers from the 19th and 20th centuries, celebrating some of the many contributions to song forms by queer artists.

Sunday, June 12, 4 p.m.: This will be the second solo piano recital of the month. The recitalist will be Patricia García Gil, and the title of her program will be Not only Muses. She will present compositions written by three women from different historical moments linked to Spain. These will include the complete works for solo piano by both Marianne von Martinez and Pauline Garcia Viardot. These collections will be followed by the “Petit Suite” composed by Rosa Garcia Ascot.