The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players presents
From the Top
Music of John Harbison, Steve Reich, Edmund Campion, Morton Feldman, and Charles Wuorinen.
The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players presents a concert of five pieces by American composers who have reached the top of their field at Herbst Theatre on Monday, October 5, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. with a pre-concert talk at 7:15pm. The concert includes the West Coast premiere of a work by John Harbison that was co-commissioned by the ensemble, as well as a U.S. premiere by Bay Area composer Edmund Campion. Sara Jobin conducts.
The Players will perform the West Coast premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winner John Harbison’s The Seven Ages, a 25-minute song cycle around the poetry of Pulitzer Prize-winner Louise Glück . The piece was co-commissioned by the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and the New York New Music Ensemble, which performed the world premiere in March of 2009. Mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal, who performed in the world premiere, will join the Contemporary Music Players for their performances in San Francisco.
The ensemble will perform the U.S. Premiere of Bay Area composer Edmund Campion’s 600 secondes dans le vieux modèle (600 Seconds in the Old Model), for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola and cello. Edmund Campion is Professor of Music at the University of California at Berkeley, where he is co-director at CNMAT (The Center for New Music and Audio Technologies). The Contemporary Music Players released a compact disk recording of Campion’s music in 2008, entitled Outside Music.
Also on the concert are: the first piece in Morton Feldman’s three-part series of works for viola and ensemble, The Viola in My Life, featuring ensemble member and San Francisco Symphony violist Nanci Severance; Steve Reich’s Vermont Counterpoint for flute and pre-recorded sound, featuring ensemble member Tod Brody; and Charles Wuorinen’s Trombone Trio, for trombone, piano, and percussion.
Conductor Sara Jobin is a staff conductor at the San Francisco Opera, where she had the honor of being the first woman to conduct mainstage subscription concerts, including the world premiere of Philip Glass’s Appomattox, as well as productions of Tosca and Norma.
The pieces by Campion and Feldman will be repeated when the ensemble performs in Nice, France at the 30th anniversary season of the MANCA Festival of new music.
John Harbison will participate in a pre-concert talk at 7:15 p.m.
PROGRAM:
Edmund Campion, 600 secondes dans le vieux modèle (600 Seconds in the Old Model) (2008) U.S. premiere
Morton Feldman, The Viola in My Life (1) (1972)
Nanci Severance, viola
Steve Reich, Vermont Counterpoint (1982)
Tod Brody, flute
Charles Wuorinen, Trombone Trio (1985)
John Harbison, The Seven Ages (2008) world premiere
Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano
PRICES: $28 general, $23 seniors, $10 students
TICKETS: www.cityboxoffice.com
INFO: www.sfcmp.org, 415-278-9566
Cost: $28