join us for a pre-concert talk at 6:45 pm
Earplay is dedicated to the performance and recording of new chamber music. It’s an evolving genre where composers and musicians freely experiment with musical structure, rhythm, and sounds, challenging the audience to broaden its concept of music with new emotional and auditory experiences. Earplay concerts feature the Earplayers, a group of artists whose lyrical and ferocious style provides eloquent, vivid performances of today’s finest chamber music. Founded in 1985 by a consortium of composers and musicians, Earplay has performed over 600 works by more than 350 composers in its 38-year history, including 158 world premieres and 93 new works commissioned by the ensemble.
Their program Life Cycle includes the World Premiere of Koh Cheng Jin’s Flower Mantis (2020) for violin, cello and piano, winner of the 2023 Donald Aird Prize. An amazing musical depiction of Indolamantis Diabolica, the predatory flower mantis, and its hunt for prey. The US Premiere of Haris Kittos’s Dyades (2016) for flute, clarinet, violin and cello. Dyades was a runner-up in Earplay’s annual Aird composition competition. We are delighted to bring this dynamic work to the stage in San Francisco. Erik Ulman’s Skamandros (2018), for clarinet violin, cello and piano, is an ode to Skandros, the Greek river god who fought against Achilles in the Trojan wars. The West Coast Premiere of Toshio Hosakawa’s Threnody (2011) for viola is a moving tribute to the victims of the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake, the most powerful ever recorded in Japan. And the World Premiere of a new work from the emerging Sacramento-based composer Chris Castro for flute and viola.
Post-performance Fundraising Gala!
Join Earplay for its first-ever mid-season fundraising gala, where we’ll toast the musicians and composers, provide insights into our 40th anniversary season in 2025, and celebrate our past, present, and future with you! There will be delicious appetizers and beverages, as well as a silent auction with many delectable and fun items to choose from. All proceeds will support Earplay’s mission to nurture the finest new chamber music of our time, and link audiences, performers, and composers through concerts, commissions, and recordings. Entrance to the gala requires special performance+gala ticket.