Previews

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Preview

Dubowsky Ensemble Meets Its Meridian

Brian Gleeson - August 21, 2009
One of the great benefits of living in the Bay Area is the opportunity to tap into its vibrant new-music scene. This movable feast of experimental music seems to be fueled by an unending parade of gifted composers and performers who have spent their lives redefining musical boundaries.
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Preview

Quinteto Latino ChampioningMusic From South of the Border

Lisa Petrie - August 21, 2009
Patrons of chamber music presenters around the world are familiar with typical ensembles like the string quartet or the piano trio; not so much the woodwind quintet, which tends to be treated like a poor cousin.
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Bad Girl Sings in San José's Manon

Georgia Rowe - August 20, 2009
Opera San José, which closed out its 2008-2009 season with Bizet's Carmen, opens the 2009 fall season with another operatic bad girl: Manon. Jules Massenet’s 1884 opera opens Sept. 12 at the California Theatre.

The sociopolitical milieu of Manon’s 18th-century France lies, of course, a considerable distance from Carmen’s Seville.

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Preview

Les grâces:Early Music at St. Johns

Michael Zwiebach - August 19, 2009
Les grâces

Sure late summer can make for lean pickings in concerts. But there are a few good ones happening.

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Preview

Leaving With Love

Jason Victor Serinus - August 17, 2009
The time has come. After 13 years as music director of the Golden Gate Men’s Chorus (GGMC), Joseph Jennings has announced his retirement. Jennings’ farewell concert, which will showcase his ever-adventuresome choice of repertoire and his penchant for pushing his singers’ limits, comes on the heels of his departure as longtime music director of Chanticleer.
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Preview

Leading With Mahler

Heuwell Tircuit - August 17, 2009
Opening the San Francisco Symphony season with Mahler is a safe bet, especially with Michael Tilson Thomas’ passionate advocacy sure to be in force. Thus, his opening series — running September 16, 17, 19, and 20 — offers an all-Mahler program; and indeed, all September’s three weeks feature Mahler’s music.
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Preview

S.F. Opera Opening Weekend Bonanza

Janos Gereben - August 17, 2009
Sure, Nicola Luisotti — aka Mr. Excitement — is making his debut on Friday, Sept.
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Old Works for New Century

Joseph Sargent - August 17, 2009
To the uninitiated, the New Century Chamber Orchestra’s 2009-2010 opening concert set, titled “Pictures at an Exhibition: New Traditions,” might appear to emphasize the traditional over the new. At first glance, the lineup seems startlingly traditional, offering two works by J.S. Bach (the Chaconne from the Partita No.
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Preview

Music in the Vineyards

Michael Zwiebach - August 5, 2009
Music in the Vineyards, a three-week chamber music festival staged in and around Napa's famous wineries, is not in danger of competing with its higher-profile, heavily promoted, festival neighbors. And that's the way they like it.

"We've learned a lot of lessons from seeing how other festivals operate," says Michael Adams, who founded and co-directs Music in the Vineyards with his wife, Daria.

UC Summer Symphony

Michael Zwiebach - August 4, 2009
Though many members of college orchestras spend the summer months at their parents' homes or bicycling through Europe, enough young musicians live in the Bay Area to cobble together a respectable orchestra. This is the premise behind the UC Berkeley Summer Symphony, a collection of fine musicians from the region's many youth orchestras.