The British Ukuleles are Coming (Back)!

Members of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain displaying their eccentricity (photography by Stefan Mager, courtesy of SFP)

Readers may recall that one of the more memorable events of 2022 took place in March of that year when, having emerged from pandemic conditions, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain visited Herbst Theatre under the joint auspices of the San Francisco Performances (SFP) Guitar Series and the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts. I suspect that most of those readers already know that this ensemble will be returning to that venue in exactly two weeks’ time under those same auspices. Mind you, this has been a good season for ukuleles, since the Omni Foundation began its season this past September with Taimane’s “Extreme Ukulele” Performance. However, while Taimane’s repertoire was basically Hawaiian, the British musicians deliver a performance based on a rhetoric of whimsy for which their country is notorious! Furthermore, the scope of their genres is simply too broad to be enumerated; and all of the selections will be announced from the stage.

As most readers probably know by now, Herbst is on the first two floors of the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. Tickets are being sold for $90 for premium seating in the Orchestra, the Side Boxes, and the front and center of the Dress Circle, $75 for the center rear of the Dress Circle and the remainder of the Orchestra, and $60 for the remainder of the Dress Circle and the Balcony. They may be purchased through an SFP secure Web page or by calling 415-392-2545.