Shenson Series Concludes with Solo Bass

Xavier Foley with his instrument (photograph by Matt Dine, courtesy of San Francisco Symphony)

Last night in Davies Symphony Hall the San Francisco Symphony presented the final program in this year’s Shenson Spotlight Series. When this series was first announced, the soloist was bassist Xavier Foley joined by Kelly Lin at the piano; but last night’s performance was a solo recital by Foley. Almost all of the selections were Foley’s own compositions, including three études selected from the set of twelve he published in 2020. The one exception was Johann Sebastian Bach’s BWV 1011 (fifth) cello suite in C minor. He also returned to Bach for his encore selection, the Prelude movement from BWV 1007, the first of the cello suites composed in the key of G major.

This may have been Foley’s debut in Davies, but he should be no stranger to those that have followed this site for some time. He was one of the instrumentalists performing with violinist Randall Goosby for the release of the latter’s Roots album, and he was a member of the Kaleidoscope Collective when they released their album of music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. His solo repertoire last night was just as diverse. Each of the études had a title suggesting a different disposition, while “Irish Fantasy” pursued traditional influences. On “this side of the pond,” the influences included “Brown Chapel,” his grandmother’s gospel church in Ypsilanti (Michigan), and the bluegrass tropes of “Letting Go.”

The entire program was performed without interruption. This seemed appropriate, since Foley had planned a coherent journey through a diversity of dispositions. “Taking a break” during the journey would have broken the spell, so to speak. Once that journey was completed, one could enjoy the encore selection and then return to the mundane world of Van Ness Avenue!