San Francisco Contemporary Music Players will continue its 2022-2023 Concert Season with “Fire and Water, Shadows and Dust,” a program that we embraces the Contemporary Players’ roots as a performing presence in the museums and gallery spaces of San Francisco, by highlighting the individual artistry of our outstanding musicians in a space surrounded by contemporary visual art. The concert focuses on the talents of two SFCMP musicians, flutist Tod Brody and harpist Meredith Clark in music by Luciano Berio, Toru Takemitsu, Salvatore Sciarrino, Jennifer Higdon, and others. The concert will also feature the world premiere of “Three Lil Pretties” (2022) by Marcus Norris, co-winner of SFCMP’s 2021-2022 Search for Scores Commissioning Prize. In addition to the music, the audience will have the opportunity to view figurative and abstract paintings by Bay Area artist Shanna Bruschi. “Fire and Water, Shadows and Dust” will be presented on Sunday, January 15, 2023 at The Lab (2948 16th St, San Francisco), with the art viewing beginning at 3:15 PM and the concert at 4:00 PM.
Sounding off numerous sources, both visual and literary, this program for flute and harp in both solo and duo repertoire exploits the full range of virtuosity on both instruments, while creating a powerful array of imagery at the same time. Centering on themes of mythology and mortality, pieces by Jennifer Higdon and Suzanne Farrin explore the intensities of sonic production suggested by contemplations on violence and disintegration, while works by Marcus Norris, Salvatore Sciarrino, Toru Takemitsu and Roberto Sierra inhabit the spaces of softer expressivity through imagistic references. The first two installments of Luciano Berio’s Sequenza series - the Italian composer’s landmark contribution to the solo repertoire of several instruments - anchor the program in a display of musical athleticism and sound painting.