NCCO to Feature Two Local Composers

Nathaniel Stookey (courtesy of the Las Vegas Philharmonic)

March will see the next performance by the New Century Chamber Orchestra (NCCO). The program will feature premiere performances of works by composers currently living in San Francisco. Both of them created their works on New Century commissions, and one of them will be receiving its world premiere. That will be “Bubble Chamber,” which was composed by Nathaniel Stookey to honor Gordon Getty.

For those unfamiliar with the title, a bubble chamber played a major role in the study of nuclear physics in the last century. Its inventor Donald A. Glaser was awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize in Physics for his efforts. Sadly, it is now little more than a relic, having been replaced by wire chambers, spark chambers, drift chambers, and silicon detectors, all of which are more conducive the current research practices.

The program will begin with the other commissioned work, a composition by Jake Heggie entitled simply “Overture.” (The title clearly speaks for itself!) Each of the two commissioned works will be paired with a predecessor, the first from the eighteenth century and the second from the nineteenth. Music Director and Concertmaster Daniel Hope will be the soloist in one of the many violin concertos composed by the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, presumably to display his skills as a violinist! The concerto is in the key of A major; and, because Saint-Georges composed two of them in that key, I cannot be more specific about Hope’s selection! On the other hand, I can be specific about the final work on the program, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Opus 70, a string sextet for pairs of violins, violas, and cellos, composed in the key of D minor and given the title “Souvenir de Florence.”

The San Francisco performance of this program will take place on Saturday, March 14, beginning at 2 p.m. This early start is due to the fact that the concert will be followed by this season’s New Century Gala event! The venue will be the Presidio Theatre, which is located in the Presidio at 99 Moraga Avenue. Tickets may be purchased through a City Box Office Web page with prices between $35 and $80.