Sunset Music and Arts: July, 2022

Readers may recall that, last month, the monthly schedules for the San Francisco Opera and Sunset Music and Arts were folded into a single article, since both series began on the same date, Saturday, June 4. Ironically, the day after that article appeared, the fourth and final Sunset concert of the month, scheduled for Saturday, June 25, was cancelled. Just as ironically, the schedule for next month also consists of four performances; and, of course, that schedule will again be subject to change without notice. That said, here are the current plans for dates, times, and performers:

Saturday, July 9, 7:30 p.m.: Violinist Dorisiya Yosifova will give a solo performance. She was born in Bulgaria, but she now lives in San Francisco, which she teaches in addition to performing. Her plan is to interleave her program selections with a lecture providing background likely to facilitate the listening experience. Those selections will be taken from both the Baroque and contemporary periods.

As might be guessed, the Baroque composers will be Georg Philipp Telemann and Johann Sebastian Bach. The Telemann selection will be TWV 40:23, the tenth composition in the collection of 12 Fantasias for Solo Violin, published in Hamburg in 1735. The Bach offering will be BWV 1004, the D minor partita, which concludes with an extended Chaconne movement.

The contemporary offerings will both be Bulgarian. Yosifova will play selections from the set of twelve caprices for solo violin by Petar Hristoskov. The program will then conclude with a recent (November, 2021) set of variations on the Bulgarian folk song “Kaval Sviri” (a Kaval plays) composed by Jillian Honorof.

Sunday, July 17, 5 p.m.: Monica Chew will give a solo piano recital. Each half of the program will conclude with one of her own compositions: “Ice Calf” and “Pitter Patter,” respectively. “Ice Calf” will be preceded by two twentieth-century selections. The program will begin with the F-sharp major prelude and fugue from Dmitri Shostakovich’s Opus 87 set of 24 preludes and fugues. This will be followed by selected movements from Maurice Ravel’s Miroirs suite. The second half of the program will begin with more recent works, Ian Dicke’s “White Parasol” and Liliya Ugay’s “Carillons à Musique.” [updated 7/9, 9:45 p.m.: The July 23 program has been cancelled.

Saturday, July 23, 4 p.m.: This will be the fourth annual visit to Sunset Music and Arts by the fourteen-member vocal ensemble Sing Out Strong! The program will include songs from Broadway, the Great American songbook, folk tunes, and more. The group was founded in January of 2017 by Ellaine Jerome and pianist Betty Fujimoto. The singers come from all walks of life and varied San Francisco neighborhoods. The ensemble enjoys singing for non-profit organizations and for community members unable to attend concerts. Where appropriate, the members provide instrumental accompaniment on guitar and/or banjo. There will be no charge for admission, but those registering in advance will receive priority admission.]

Saturday, July 30, 7:30 p.m.: The month will conclude with a program of twentieth-century compositions by Kirke Mechem, Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Sergei Rachmaninov, and Sergei Prokofiev. The performers will be soprano Cheryl Cain and pianist Kevin Navarro. Further details have not yet been announced.

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 for all performances, other than the one given by Sing Out Strong!, are $25 for general admission with a $20 rate for students and seniors. Because the demand tends to be high, advance purchase and registration are highly advised. Both may be arranged through Eventbrite. Each of the hyperlinks on the above dates leads to the appropriate event page. 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.