Monday, December 2
Philharmonia Baroque and University of California
French Baroque Music and Dance Workshop with Live Music. A French Baroque Music and Dance Workshop featuring baroque dance specialist Jennifer Meller, musicians from Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale, and the University Baroque Ensemble, co-directed by Carla Moore and Katherine Heater. Workshop will feature music from the opera Armide, a masterpiece composed by Jean Baptiste Lully.
8–10 PM
Hertz Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Free event open to public, registration required. NO PRIOR DANCE EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED! Participants may audit or dance.
Tuesday, December 3
Sacramento Recorder Society
Festive holiday meeting for recorder players, with no guest conductor! Members please bring holiday music Newcomers welcome. Bring recorders, stand, and other early instruments. Refreshments. The Sacramento Recorder Society is a chapter of the American Recorder Society. Members range from low-intermediate to advanced players, all with a love of early music. Players of other early music instruments are also welcome.
6:45–9:30 PM
Friends Meeting House
890 57th St., between H and J, Sacramento.
sacrecorders.wordpress.com
916-698-5774, e-mail: [email protected]
Thursday, December 5
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan, Conductor
George Frideric Handel, Judas Maccabaeus. Nicholas McGegan, an international authority on Handel, conducts his final Handel oratorio as music director. Judas Maccabaeus, a stirring tale of the triumph of perseverance and peace over oppression, has endured relevance and popularity since its original performances, and PBO will perform this work for the first time since 1992. Judas Maccabaeus, premiered in 1747, was written to honor the Duke of Cumberland upon his victory in the Battle of Culloden in Scotland; the libretto draws primarily from the Book of Maccabees as well as Flavius Josephus’s Antiquities of the Jews. The oratorio tells the triumphant underdog story of the Maccabees and their ultimate defeat of the Seleucid Empire, which had sought to destroy the Jewish religion. With soloists Robin Johannsen, soprano (Israelitish Woman); Sara Couden, mezzo-soprano (Israelitish Man); Nicholas Phan, tenor (Judas Maccabaeus); William Berger, baritone (Simon); Jacque Wilson, mezzo-soprano (First and Second Messengers); Sepp Hammer, bass-baritone (Eupolemus); and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale, Bruce Lamott, chorale director. Join us for the Pre-Concert Talk forty-five minutes prior to the concert start time.
7 PM
Herbst Theatre
401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco
$32–$120
Tickets online or 415-392-4400
Friday, December 6
East Bay Chapter, ARS
Monthly playing session with guest conductor Frances Blaker. New members and guests welcome. Please visit our “Join Us!” page for our membership form. But if you wish to attend for a first time as a non-member, it is free (with a $10 charge for addtional monthly meetings thereafter until you join).
7:30–10 PM
Zion Lutheran Church
5201 Park Blvd., Oakland
http://www.eastbayrecorders.org
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan, Conductor
George Frideric Handel, Judas Maccabaeus. Nicholas McGegan, an international authority on Handel, conducts his final Handel oratorio as music director. Judas Maccabaeus, a stirring tale of the triumph of perseverance and peace over oppression, has endured relevance and popularity since its original performances, and PBO will perform this work for the first time since 1992. Judas Maccabaeus, premiered in 1747, was written to honor the Duke of Cumberland upon his victory in the Battle of Culloden in Scotland; the libretto draws primarily from the Book of Maccabees as well as Flavius Josephus’s Antiquities of the Jews. The oratorio tells the triumphant underdog story of the Maccabees and their ultimate defeat of the Seleucid Empire, which had sought to destroy the Jewish religion. With soloists Robin Johannsen, soprano (Israelitish Woman); Sara Couden, mezzo-soprano (Israelitish Man); Nicholas Phan, tenor (Judas Maccabaeus); William Berger, baritone (Simon); Jacque Wilson, mezzo-soprano (First and Second Messengers); Sepp Hammer, bass-baritone (Eupolemus); and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale, Bruce Lamott, chorale director. Join us for the Pre-Concert Talk forty-five minutes prior to the concert start time.
7:30 PM
First United Methodist Church
625 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto
$32–$120
Tickets online or 415-392-4400
Resmiranda Vocal Ensemble, Renée Fladen-Kamm, director
Resmiranda Vocal Ensemble explores the sacred choral divide between Catholics and Lutherans in the century following the 1521 excommunication of Martin Luther by Pope Leo X. Representing the Catholic tradition are selections by Byrd, de Morales, Gabrieli, Banchieri, Porpora, and Monteverdi, while the Lutheran mores take shape through selected works by Schütz, Distler, Scheidt, Schein, Hammerschmidt, and Bach.
7:30 PM
University Lutheran Chapel
2425 College Avenue, Berkeley
Tickets at the door, $20
https://www.operanontroppo.com/
San Francisco Choral Society, Robert Geary, Director
J.S Bach Christmas Oratorio, Cantatas 4, 5 & 6 and Magnificat in D. Celebrate the holiday season with J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Cantatas 4–6 and Magnificat in D, in a dazzling concert presented by the San Francisco Choral Society, with the Jubilate Orchestra, under the direction of Artistic Director Robert Geary, as SFCS completes its 30th anniversary concert season. In December 2018, San Francisco Choral Society presented the first half of this glorious masterwork. This year, with the performance of Cantatas 4, 5, and 6, the chorus concludes one of Bach’s most treasured masterworks as it tells the journey of the Christmas story through jubilant chorales, arias, duets and trios. Add to that Bach’s remarkable Magnificat in D, and you’re in for a properly inspiring opener for the 2019 holiday season! With featured soloists Michele Kennedy, soprano; Jessica House Steward, soprano; Leandra Ramm, mezzo-soprano; Michael Jankosky, tenor; and Nikolas Nackley, baritone.
8 PM
St. Ignatius Church
650 Parker Street, San Francisco
Tickets $35 to $50
Purchase online or by phone at 415-221-5590
WAVE, Shira Kammen and Phoebe J. Rosquist, Directors
“The Resilient Rose” The Women’s Antique Vocal Ensemble (WAVE) will present a holiday concert that explores finding warmth in the cold and facing the light in times of darkness. Traditional carols will be interspersed with pieces by Hildegard, Palestrina, Vizzana, Britten, and others. Directed by Shira Kammen and Phoebe J. Rosquist, also playing vielle, harp, and bells, WAVE will be joined by Tobi Szuts, viola da gamba, and Andrew Canepa, organ, at its new venue!
8 PM
St. Mary Magdalen Church
2005 Berryman St., Berkeley
Ample free parking
General $25; Seniors/Students $20; 18 & under $5
Tickets can be purchased at the door or at a discount through Brown Paper Tickets or call 1-800-838-3006 for tickets or for information.
www.wavewomen.org
[email protected]
Saturday, December 7
Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra, Frederic Palmer, Director
The Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra performs its annual mid-winter concert. The program will feature selections from Henry Purcell’s incidental music to A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream, an Italian song by the 15th-century Burgundian composer, Guillaume Dufay, an anonymous court dance from 16th-century Poland, a motet by Mozart and The Glass Elevator by the orchestra’s director, Frederic Palmer. The location of this concert is wheelchair accessible. The Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra is an affiliate of the San Francisco Early Music Society.
2 PM
Grace Lutheran Church
3149 Waverley Street, Palo Alto
Free
For further information please see the orchestra’s web page at http://mpro-online.org/ or call Frederic Palmer at 650-591-3648.
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan, Conductor
George Frideric Handel, Judas Maccabaeus. Nicholas McGegan, an international authority on Handel, conducts his final Handel oratorio as music director. Judas Maccabaeus, a stirring tale of the triumph of perseverance and peace over oppression, has endured relevance and popularity since its original performances, and PBO will perform this work for the first time since 1992. Judas Maccabaeus, premiered in 1747, was written to honor the Duke of Cumberland upon his victory in the Battle of Culloden in Scotland; the libretto draws primarily from the Book of Maccabees as well as Flavius Josephus’s Antiquities of the Jews. The oratorio tells the triumphant underdog story of the Maccabees and their ultimate defeat of the Seleucid Empire, which had sought to destroy the Jewish religion. With soloists Robin Johannsen, soprano (Israelitish Woman); Sara Couden, mezzo-soprano (Israelitish Man); Nicholas Phan, tenor (Judas Maccabaeus); William Berger, baritone (Simon); Jacque Wilson, mezzo-soprano (First and Second Messengers); Sepp Hammer, bass-baritone (Eupolemus); and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale, Bruce Lamott, chorale director. Join us for the Pre-Concert Talk forty-five minutes prior to the concert start time.
7 PM
First Congregational Church
2345 Channing Way, Berkeley
$32–$120
Tickets online or 415-392-4400
San Francisco Choral Society, Robert Geary, Director
J.S Bach Christmas Oratorio, Cantatas 4, 5 & 6 and Magnificat in D. Celebrate the holiday season with J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Cantatas 4–6 and Magnificat in D, in a dazzling concert presented by the San Francisco Choral Society, with the Jubilate Orchestra, under the direction of Artistic Director Robert Geary, as SFCS completes its 30th anniversary concert season. In December 2018, San Francisco Choral Society presented the first half of this glorious masterwork. This year, with the performance of Cantatas 4, 5, and 6, the chorus concludes one of Bach’s most treasured masterworks as it tells the journey of the Christmas story through jubilant chorales, arias, duets and trios. Add to that Bach’s remarkable Magnificat in D, and you’re in for a properly inspiring opener for the 2019 holiday season! With featured soloists Michele Kennedy, soprano; Jessica House Steward, soprano; Leandra Ramm, mezzo-soprano; Michael Jankosky, tenor; and Nikolas Nackley, baritone.
8 PM
St. Ignatius Church
650 Parker Street, San Francisco
Tickets $35 to $50
Purchase online or by phone at 415-221-5590
San Francisco Bach Choir, Magen Solomon, Director
“Journeys by Candlelight: Christmas Near and Far” A holiday trip around the world and through the centuries, exploring music sacred and festive, serious and jolly, peaceful and noisy, intimate and celebratory. Works from France, England, Germany, Phillipines, Italy, Sweden, Hungary, Canada, Peru, Venezuela and, of course, the US.
7:30 PM
Calvary Presbyterian Church
2515 Fillmore (at Jackson), San Francisco
$30/$25/$10 Under 19 Free
Tickets online
855-4SF-BACH (855-473-2224, toll-free) or [email protected]
Soli Deo Gloria, Allen H. Simon, Director
“O What Joy!” featuring Bach’s cantata 68, Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, Magnificats by Schubert and Charpentier, plus a treat by Haydn’s brother Michael, accompanied by orchestra with soloist Joshua Hughes.
4:30 PM
Christ Episcopal Church
1700 Santa Clara, Alameda
$30 General; $25 Student/Senior. Students grades K–8 free
Order online and receive a discount or call 888-734-7664
Vallejo Choral Society, Derek Tam, Artistic Director
An “Early” Christmas, featuring music of the late Renaissance and Baroque. Featuring Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit pour Noël (Midnight Mass) plus old chestnuts from Handel and Bach, as well as works by Sweelinck, Porpora, Praetorius, and Buxtehude. With chamber orchestra of early music players.
7 PM
Community Congregational Church
1305 West 2nd Street, Benicia
tickets online, 707-653-6827
[email protected], www.vallejochoral.org
Sunday, December 8
MusicSources presents Catalina Vicens, harpsichord
Early keyboard superstar Catalina Vicens specializes in repertoire rarely heard in a modern concert setting. Her performances have won many admirers and have exposed listeners to music from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. She currently holds a residency at the Conservatory at Oberlin.
5 PM
St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church
2005 Berryman St., Berkeley
$30 for non-members, $25 for members & seniors, and FREE for students (18 years of age or younger)
www.MusicSources.org
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan, Conductor
George Frideric Handel, Judas Maccabaeus. Nicholas McGegan, an international authority on Handel, conducts his final Handel oratorio as music director. Judas Maccabaeus, a stirring tale of the triumph of perseverance and peace over oppression, has endured relevance and popularity since its original performances, and PBO will perform this work for the first time since 1992. Judas Maccabaeus, premiered in 1747, was written to honor the Duke of Cumberland upon his victory in the Battle of Culloden in Scotland; the libretto draws primarily from the Book of Maccabees as well as Flavius Josephus’s Antiquities of the Jews. The oratorio tells the triumphant underdog story of the Maccabees and their ultimate defeat of the Seleucid Empire, which had sought to destroy the Jewish religion. With soloists Robin Johannsen, soprano (Israelitish Woman); Sara Couden, mezzo-soprano (Israelitish Man); Nicholas Phan, tenor (Judas Maccabaeus); William Berger, baritone (Simon); Jacque Wilson, mezzo-soprano (First and Second Messengers); Sepp Hammer, bass-baritone (Eupolemus); and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale, Bruce Lamott, chorale director. Join us for the Pre-Concert Talk forty-five minutes prior to the concert start time.
4 PM
First Congregational Church
2345 Channing Way, Berkeley
$32–$120
Tickets online or 415-392-4400
San Francisco Bach Choir, Magen Solomon, Director
“Journeys by Candlelight: Christmas Near and Far” A holiday trip around the world and through the centuries, exploring music sacred and festive, serious and jolly, peaceful and noisy, intimate and celebratory. Works from France, England, Germany, Phillipines, Italy, Sweden, Hungary, Canada, Peru, Venezuela and, of course, the US.
4 PM
Calvary Presbyterian Church
2515 Fillmore (at Jackson), San Francisco
$30/$25/$10 Under 19 Free
Tickets online
855-4SF-BACH (855-473-2224, toll-free) or [email protected]
Soli Deo Gloria, Allen H. Simon, Director
“O What Joy!” featuring Bach’s cantata 68, Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, Magnificats by Schubert and Charpentier, plus a treat by Haydn’s brother Michael, accompanied by orchestra with soloist Joshua Hughes.
3:30 PM
Grace Lutheran Church
3149 Waverley St., Palo Alto
$30 General; $25 Student/Senior. Students grades K–8 free
Order online and receive a discount or call 888-734-7664
Vallejo Choral Society, Derek Tam, Artistic Director
An “Early” Christmas, featuring music of the late Renaissance and Baroque. Featuring Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit pour Noël (Midnight Mass) plus old chestnuts from Handel and Bach, as well as works by Sweelinck, Porpora, Praetorius, and Buxtehude. With chamber orchestra of early music players.
7 PM
Community Congregational Church
1305 West 2nd Street, Benicia
tickets online, 707-653-6827
[email protected], www.vallejochoral.org
