Old First Concerts: September, 2023

As was reported last month, the month of August at Old First Presbyterian Church will conclude with four of the performances in this year’s San Francisco International Piano Festival, which will be presented in conjunction with Old First Concerts (O1C). The following month will then begin with the annual Labor Day weekend tradition and the rescheduling of a recital originally planned for this past June. There will be two remaining concerts, both taking place towards the end of the month.

All of the offerings will continue to be “hybrid,” allowing both live streaming and seating in Old First at 1751 Sacramento Street on the southwest corner of Van Ness Avenue. 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:

Sunday, September 3, 4 p.m.: The annual Labor Day tradition will continue with the return of jazz pianist Mike Greensill. As was the case last year, he will lead a trio, whose other members will again be Ruth Davies on bass and Brad Buethe on guitar. The title of the program will be simply Jazz in the Afternoon. As usual, the Great American Songbook will provide the “bread and butter” of the program, reinforced by a surprise guest appearance by vocalist Gale Terminello. However, one should anticipate that, as in the past, Greensill will add a hefty dose of his own original compositions.

Friday, September 8, 8 p.m.: Some readers may recall that Italian-Egyptian pianist Francesca Khalifa had prepared a program for O1C to be performed this past June. That program will now be performed in September. She will begin with the first book in Claude Debussy’s Images collection. This will be followed by Three Passions for Our Troubled Planet by Brian T. Field, Béla Bartók’s Opus 14 suite, the third prelude-étude coupling by Gabriela Ortiz, and Miguel del Aguila’s “Conga.”

Friday, September 22, 8 p.m.: According to my records, Ensemble for These Times last appeared at Old First in October of last year. As in the past the performers will be soprano Nanette McGuinness, cellist Abigail Monroe, and pianist Margaret Halbig. The program will be framed by music from the early twentieth century. The opening selections will be Arnold Schoenberg’s Opus 4, “Verklärte Nacht” (transfigured night) in Eduard Steuermann’s arrangement for violin, cello, and piano; and the program will conclude with a selection of songs by Franz Schreker. Between these “bookends” will be three works by contemporary composers, Darian Donovan, Lisa Bielawa, and inti figgis-vizueta.

Sunday, September 24, 4 p.m.: The Ives Collective will return to Old First with a program of two compositions, both of which have the opus number 115. The string quartet of violinists Hrabba Atladottir and Susan Freier, violist Jenny Douglass, and cellist Stephen Harrison will be joined by guest artist Mariam Adam on clarinet. In the second half of the program, they will play Johannes Brahms’ clarinet quintet in B minor. The first half will consist entirely of Gabriel Fauré’s second piano quintet in C minor, performed with guest artist Keisuke Nakagoshi on piano.