Artist Spotlights

Joana Carneiro: Enjoying Her Breakout Year

Michael Zwiebach - December 1, 2009

Joana Carneiro, the music director of the Berkeley Symphony, has established herself as a conductor at the relatively young age of 33.

Soprano Renee Fleming: Golden Girl, Undaunted

Georgia Rowe - November 24, 2009

Renée Fleming is one of the opera world’s most recognizable divas. Blessed with gorgeous good looks and a golden voice, the Pennsylvania-born soprano started her career in Mozart roles and soon moved on to her favorite composer, Richard Strauss.

An Interview With William Bolcom: Serendipity

Georgia Rowe - November 17, 2009

William Bolcom has always made his own way. Throughout his career, which has produced symphonies, operas, chamber pieces, and piano and vocal works, the Seattle-born, Michigan-based composer has often rejected the prevailing notions of what “serious” music should include. 

An Interview With Joyce DiDonato: Rossini as Her Barometer

Georgia Rowe - November 10, 2009

When mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato made her San Francisco Opera debut in 2003, as Rosina in The Barber of Seville, it was immediately apparent that audiences were hearing an artist of extravagant vocal gifts.

An Interview With Susan Graham: The Intimate Singer

Jason Victor Serinus - November 3, 2009
Texas-born mezzo-soprano Susan Graham is no stranger to these parts. Since 1990, she has sung everything from Monteverdi to Jake Heggie in six different productions with San Francisco Opera, performed several times in concert with the San Francisco Symphony, and sung two recitals here.

An Interview With Sara Jobin: It's All About the Music

Georgia Rowe - October 27, 2009
On November 7, 2004, Sara Jobin made opera history by becoming the first woman to conduct a San Francisco Opera main stage production. The opera was Tosca, and Jobin has since conducted the company’s performances of The Flying Dutchman, Norma, and Appomattox, as well as the S.F.

An Interview With Alexander Barantschik: Playing Second Fiddle to None

Lisa Petrie - October 20, 2009
Concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony for eight years, violinist Alexander Barantschik has won the hearts of patrons with his wide range of talent. As soloist, conductor, and section leader, “Sasha,” as his colleagues call him, has become something of a rock star at Davies Symphony Hall.

An Interview With William Lyons: Eclectic About Early Music

Lisa Petrie - October 13, 2009
Renaissance music aficionado William Lyons is known for his work with the Dufay Collective and as music director of London’s Globe Theatre. On Oct. 18, MusicSources presents his new ensemble, City Musick, in its first American tour.

Where did you grow up, and what bearing did that have on your becoming an early-music freak?

An Interview With Robert Geary: Master of Choral R&D

Lisa Petrie - October 12, 2009

Robert Geary is expanding the envelope of modern choral music, building a body of repertoire by commissioning and performing new music with his three groups — Volti, the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, and the San Francisco Choral Society. On Oct. 18, the proud papa of Volti celebrates the group’s 30th anniversary with a special CD release and gala.

An Interview With Wu Han: Music@Menlo Lands a Brand New Venue

Marianne Lipanovich - October 6, 2009

The founders of the summer music festival Music@Menlo are returning to the Peninsula this fall. Wu Han and David Finckel, along with Anthony McGill, are performing on Oct. 11 at the opening of the new Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, on the campus of Menlo-Atherton High School. It’s a state-of-the-art building, and, says Wu Han, “I can’t wait to play there.”