Volti Plans Adventurous 46th Season

In a little over a week, the Volti vocal ensemble will present the first of the three concerts in its 46th season. Founding Artistic Director Robert Geary has described the season as “a bold exploration of the intersections between humanity, electronics, and the environment.” It will also be a season of collaboration, continuing its ongoing partnership with the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble. The dates of performances in San Francisco will be as follows, along with a summary of the currently available specifics for each program.

Poster design for the first concert in Volti’s 46th season (from the Season 46 Web page)

Monday, November 18, 7 p.m., Noe Valley Ministry: The title of the program is Electronics & New Music. The “new” will be the world premiere of Anne Hege’s “Becoming Within,” which was composed for a Volti commission. There will also be a world premiere performance of Victoria Fraser’s “Lux Aeterna.” Furthermore, there will be a “world premiere preview” of two movements from Mark Winges’ cantata Guardians of Yggdrasil, based on a libretto by Lisa Delan. The program will also include the “four seasons” cycle by Kaija Saariaho entitled Tag des Jahrs, and Angélica Negrón’s four-movement suite FONO. As most readers probably know by now, the venue is located in Noe Valley at 1021 Sanchez Street; and a Web page has been created for online ticket purchases.

Saturday, February 1, 7:30 p.m., Noe Valley Ministry: The performance of On The Threshold of Dreamland will be a collaboration with the instrumentalists of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble. Both ensembles jointly commissioned a new work by LJ White, whose title has not yet been announced but will be given its world premiere performance. There will also be a premiere performance of a new work by Todd Kitchen entitled “Soprasymmetry IV,” composed on a commission by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University. Other contributing composers will be Huang Ruo (“Without Words”) and Laurie San Martin (“Witches”). The program will also include a selection of Benjamin Britten’s arrangements of folk songs. A Web page has again been created for online ticket purchases.

Sunday, June 8, 3 p.m.: Ticketing information has not yet been finalized, and that includes the venue. The title of the program is Environmentalism in Music. The major work on the program will be the completed version of Guardians of Yggdrasil. There will also be a reprise performance of Caroline Shaw’s “Ochre.”