Details of the 2010–11 season of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music have now been released. As has always been the case, the Calendar will cover a wide variety of events, many of which are free with the remainder reasonably priced at $20, with a special $15 rate for students, seniors, and Friends of the Conservatory. Here is a quick overview of the different programs under which these concerts will be presented.
The Christmas "family opera" program (with a special admission rate of $5) will take place on December 11 with performances at both 1 PM and 4 PM. This year the condensed version of Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel will be performed on a double-bill with Gift of the Magi by Conservatory Professor David Conte. The Spring Opera has not yet been selected; but this year it will take place at the Marines Memorial Theater in downtown San Francisco (609 Sutter Street). Evening performances will be at 7:30 PM on March 31, April 1, and April 2 with a 2 PM matinee on April 3. There will also be a Fall Opera Theater presented at the Conservatory at 8 PM on November 6 and 2 PM on November 7.
In addition the Conservatory Baroque Ensemble will again present a full opera, this time in concert version. The opera will be George Frideric Handel's Alcina, and it will be performed on March 5 at 7:30 PM and on March 6 at 2 PM. Other Conservatory Baroque Ensemble concerts are as follows:
October 31, 2:00 PM Orchestral music
November 8, 8:00 PM Vocal music
November 15, 2:00 PM Chamber music
April 20, 8:00 PM Orchestral music
April 27, 8:00 PM Chamber music
All Conservatory Baroque Ensemble events are free.
This will be the 25th anniversary of the Conservatory's chamber music program, and it will be celebrated with a rich assortment of visiting artists offering both recital programs and Master Classes, the latter still being free to the general public. Here is the full schedule of events:
September 28, 7:30 PM Master Class – Gilbert Kalish, piano
September 30, 8:00 PM Concert – Gilbert Kalish, piano
October 15, 7:30 PM Master Class – Martin Katz, collaborative piano
November 2, 7:30 PM Master Class – Bonnie Hampton, cello
November 4, 8:00 PM Concert – Bonnie Hampton, cello
November 5, 8:00 PM Celebration Concert
February 1, 7:30 PM Master Class – Kim Kashkashian, viola
February 3, 8:00 PM Concert – Kim Kashkashian, viola
March 8, 7:30 PM Master Class – Menahem Pressler, piano
March 10, 8:00 PM Concert – Menahem Pressler, piano
April 5, 7:30 PM Master Class – Robert Mann, violin
April 7, 8:00 PM Concert – Robert Mann, violin
April 17 Chamber Music Marathon
The Conservatory Orchestra, under the baton of music director Andrew Mogrelia, performs music from Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen in April 2011 as part of the San Francisco Opera's Ring Festival, a series of events, lectures and activities preceding and during the Opera's summer 2011 production of Wagner's complete Ring cycle. The orchestra also collaborates with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Symphony Orchestra in October 2010, the two ensembles separately and together performing works by William Schuman, Samuel Barber, Modest Mussorgsky and Richard Mills. Guest conductors this season include Alasdair Neale, music director of the Marin Symphony and the orchestra's principal guest conductor; and Imre Palló, chair of conducting and opera production at the Sydney Conservatorium. Orchestral workshops take place October 2010, with San Francisco Opera Music Director Nicola Luisotti and Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4; and May 2011, with Toronto Symphony Orchestra Music Director Peter Oundjian and Edward Elgar's "Enigma Variations." Repertory highlights include performances of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 3, Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, Johannes Brahms' Haydn variations, Witold Lutoslawski's "Concerto for Orchestra," and others, including several concertos with student soloists. Here is the summary of the Conservatory Orchestra calendar:
September 18/20, 8:00 PM Andrew Mogrelia, conductor, music of Shostakovich and
Tchaikovsky
October 22, 8:00 PM Joint concert with Sydney Conservatorium, Andrew Mogrelia
and Imre Palló, conductors. Music of Schuman, Barber, Mills
and Mussorgsky
October 25, 8:00 PM Orchestral workshop with Nicola Luisotti. Tchaikovsky Symphony
No. 4
November 13, 8:00 PM Andrew Mogrelia, conductor, music of Strauss, Wieniawski and
Schumann
December 4, 8:00 PM Alasdair Neale, guest conductor, music of Ravel, Liszt and
Shostakovich
February 11/12, 8:00 PM Andrew Mogrelia, conductor, music of Brahms, Reinecke and
Lutoslawski
April 30, 8:00 PM SF Opera Ring Festival, Andrew Mogrelia, conductor. Music of
Wagner and Elgar
May 2, 8:00 PM Orchestral workshop with Peter Oundjian. Elgar Enigma
Variations
Finally, Nicole Paiement has again arranged a stimulating season of offerings for her BluePrint Project, which will again include a collaboration with the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.):
October 9, 8:00 PM Laura Schwendinger Chiaroscure Azzuro (West Coast premiere)
with Wei He, violin; music of Philip Glass, David Conte
November 20, 8:00 PM Alfred Schnittke Dialogue for Violoncello and seven instruments
André Previn/Tom Stoppard Every Good Boy Deserves
Favor (A.C.T. collaboration)
December 8, 8:00 PM Student compositions
February 19, 8:00 PM Paul Bowles The Dancer (American premiere); Song Selections
music of Michele Reverdy, Ned Rorem
March 12, 8:00 PM Manly Romero Doppelgänger (Hoefer Prize winner);
music of Andrew Imbrie, Lisa Bielawa, Hi Kyung Kim
April 9, 8:00 PM Andrew Imbrie Memorial Concert with the Borromeo String
Quartet
Imbrie From Time to Time, Clarinet Quintet, Dream Sequence
April 12, 8:00 PM Student compositions
As always, complete, up-to-date concert information will be available at the Conservatory Web site. Tickets go on sale on August 30 and may be purchased online at the Conservatory Web site or by calling the Box Office at 415-503-6275. Again, all ticketed concerts are priced at $20 for general admission, with a $15 rate for students, seniors, and Friends of the Conservatory. Unless otherwise indicated, concerts are held in the Conservatory building at 50 Oak Street, San Francisco.
Comments